Shinzo Abe, former Prime Minister of Japan, dies after being shot at campaign event

Former Japanese leader Shinzo Abe died on Friday after being shot at a campaign event.

TOKYO — Former Japanese leader Shinzo Abe died Friday after being shot at a campaign event, an attack that shocked a country where gun violence is virtually nonexistent.

Abe, 67, was a towering political presence even after he stepped down as Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, and he was campaigning ahead of elections scheduled for Sunday.

He had just begun a speech in the western city of Nara, near Kyoto, when gunfire was heard around 11:30 a.m. local time (10:30 p.m. Thursday ET).

Police said Tetsuya Yamagami, a 41-year-old unemployed man, was arrested at the scene and was under investigation in connection with the attack. The suspect made a confession, police said, adding that he told them he harbored a grudge against a group he believed was connected to Abe. Yamagami also claimed to police that he had previously worked at Japan's Navy for three years.

They said they understood the attack was carried out with a homemade gun and later found several other weapons that appeared to be homemade from a mix of metal and wood at Yamagami's residence. It is unclear whether the suspect carried proper licenses for the weapons.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/japan-shinzo-abe-shot-rcna37228

---