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Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico was in a life-threatening condition in hospital Wednesday after he was shot multiple times in an assassination attempt.
The shooting took place after an off-site government meeting in Handlova. Fico was first transported to a local hospital and then taken by helicopter to a major trauma center in Banska Bystrica, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) away.
Footage from the scene shows the injured prime minister being bundled into a vehicle by several of his staff, with the car speeding away from the scene as soon as he is inside.
“There was an assassination attempt on R. Fico. He was shot multiple times and is currently in a life-threatening condition. The next few hours will be decisive,” according to a statement on Fico’s official Facebook page.
The suspected gunman was detained at the scene by law enforcement officers, according to Slovakia’s state news agency TASR.
He is a prominent nationalist who rejected immigration quotas by the EU, funding to Ukraine, & the WHO's pandemic treaty.