Slovakia’s PM battles for life after assassination attempt

HANDLOVA, May 15

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico suffered life-threatening injuries when he was shot and wounded in an attempted assassination on Wednesday, the government office said. Slovak media said the shooter was a 71-year-old man but the motive was not immediately clear.

The incident shocked Slovakia, a small central European nation with little history of political violence. Slovakia’s partners in the European Union and NATO condemned the shooting.

Biden condemns ‘horrific act of violence’, extends help

• President Joe Biden condemned the attempted assassination of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on Wednesday and said the US Embassy was ready to assist the government there
• “I am alarmed to hear reports of an attack on Slovak PM Robert Fico. We condemn this horrific act of violence. Our embassy is in close touch with the government of Slovakia,” he said.

Fico, 59, was rushed to hospital in the central Slovak town of Handlova where he had been chairing a government meeting. He was then transported by helicopter to regional capital Banska Bystrica for urgent treatment, it said, adding that his condition was too serious for him to be taken to Bratislava. A Reuters witness heard three or four shots as Fico exited a building to shake hands with a crowd of people who had been waiting to greet him. Police then wrestled a man to the ground.

“An assassination (attempt) on PM Robert Fico was carried out today at the off-site meeting in Handlova,” the government office said. — Reuters