Tetsuya Yamagami killed Shinzo Abe, But intended to shoot someone else: Sources
9 July, 2022 | Riya Girdhar
The former prime minister of Japan was well-liked and respected throughout the world, but especially in India where he had a close relationship with Narendra Modi.
According to police sources, Tetsuya Yamagami, the 41-year-old man who will always be known for shooting and killing Shinzo Abe, did not initially want to assassinate the former Japanese prime minister.
Yamagami said police he wanted to attack the leader of a religious group that he thought had taken advantage of his mother. Yamagami did not attempt to flee after shooting Abe twice at close range with a handmade shotgun.
Abe was attacked because Yamagami thought the two-time ex-PM had supported this organisation domestically. Yamagami acknowledged going to other places where Abe spoke. Yamagami denied hitting Abe because of his political opinions, according to police sources who spoke to Kyodo News.
Police visited Yamagami’s residence in Nara shortly after he was brought into custody on Friday and found explosives and handmade weapons inside. According to Kyodo News, the suspect served three years in the Maritime Self-Defence Force of his nation before leaving in 2005.
Yamagami quit his job due to being “tired” at the time of his attack on Abe, according to The Japan Times.
While giving a campaign rally on Friday morning in Nara, western Japan, Shinzo Abe was shot. Abe was seen on the ground with blood on the left side of his chest soon after the incident.
As he was being transported to the Nara Medical University, he slipped into cardiac arrest and lost consciousness. There, medical staff battled for five hours to save his life before announcing his death. Abe received two shots to the upper left arm and neck.
Concerns have been raised regarding a possible security breach for Abe.
Fumio Kishida, the prime minister, was furious as he spoke to his country Friday night, calling Abe’s execution “barbaric.”
Abe’s body arrived in Tokyo early on Saturday.
His residence in the affluent Shibuya district was visited by a black hearse. Mourners stood by and bowed their heads as the funeral passed.
India has joined the rest of the globe in lamenting and expressing outrage over Shinzo Abe’s passing. On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi penned an emotive obituary entitled “My Friend, Abe San” and proclaimed Saturday to be a day of national mourning.