Slovakia's prime minister shot and gravely injured in 'attempted assassination'

The populist prime minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, was in life-threatening condition Wednesday after being shot in an "attempted assassination," his office said.


Fico’s Facebook page said in an update: “He was shot multiple times and is in a life-threatening state.”


It said that he was being taken to a hospital in the city of Banská Bystrica rather than in the capital, Bratislava, because "it would take too long considering the urgency of the matter."


The country’s president confirmed the attack shortly after the news broke.


“Utterly shocked by today’s brutal and reckless attack on #Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico, which I condemn in strongest possible terms,” Zuzana Čaputová said in a message on X. “I wish him lot of strength in this critical moment and early recovery. My thoughts are also with his family and close ones,” she added.
Lubos Blaha, vice-chairman of the central European country’s parliament, said that Fico was shot and injured, according to Slovak news agency TASR.


A TASR reporter said that several shots were fired in the town of Handlova, about 110 miles northeast of the capital Bratislava. Fico was greeting members of the public after a government meeting, the news agency reported.


NBC News has not independently verified the reports.


Photos on news agencies showed a man appearing to be detained in Handlova. Video captured at the scene and shared on social media showed another man being carried into a car by security staff in dark suits.





A person is detained in the ground. (Radovan Stoklasa / Reuters)



Fico was elected in October last year as leader of the leftist Smer party, meaning direction, standing on a pro-Russian and anti-American populist platform.


The veteran politician had already served as prime minister twice before returning to the role last year as part of a power-sharing deal with two other parties.


Fico has found common cause with Viktor Orban, the right-wing authoritarian leader of Hungary, Slovakia's neighbor to the south, in ending support for Ukraine's defense against Russia's invasion and criticizing Western support for Kyiv.


Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, strongly condemned the attack in a post on X.


“Such acts of violence have no place in our society and undermine democracy, our most precious common good,” she said.