The politician was wounded after an assailant fired multiple shots
FILE PHOTO: Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico. © Mateusz Wlodarczyk / NurPhoto via Getty Images
Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot and wounded on Wednesday. Multiple shots were fired at the politician as he greeted the public after a government meeting.
The shooting took place in the town of Handlova, as Fico shook hands with members of the public outside government buildings. Four shots rang out, Slovakia’s TA3 News reported, with one of them striking the prime minister.
Fico collapsed and was carried to a car by his security detail, the network stated. He was taken to a nearby hospital and his condition is unclear.
The Slovakian Interior Ministry confirmed that Fico was the target of the attack.
READ MORE: EU state’s PM reminds Macron that Ukraine is not in NATO
The suspect was restrained by police and arrested, Slovakian newspaper Dennik N reported. Video footage purportedly showed officers pinning the attacker to the ground after the shooting.
President Zuzana Caputova condemned the “brutal and reckless” attack on Fico, and wished the PM “a lot of strength at this critical moment.”
Fico took office in October 2023, after serving two stints as prime minister from 2006 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2018. Fico immediately halted the previous government’s policy of military aid to Ukraine and called for a negotiated settlement between Moscow and Kiev. His neutral stance on the conflict has seen him clash with Brussels, and with pro-Western figures within Slovakia like Caputova.
