1 of 2 | Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot multiple times in an assassination attempt Wednesday Photo by Jakub Gavlak/EPA-EFE
Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot multiple times in an assassination attempt and was in a life-threatening condition Wednesday, a statement on his official Facebook account said.
The post said Fico was being transported by helicopter to Banska Bystrica for medical treatment “because it would take too long” to return him to the capital of Bratislava. Advertisement
The attack happened following a government meeting in the central Slovakian town of Handlova.
A woman who witnessed the shooting, cited by local news outlet MNT.SK, said she heard three or four shots and watched Fico fall to the ground.
Fico had made pro-Russian statements and moved to tighten state control over news media after he was elected in September.
Reaction poured in from Slovakia and world leaders.
In a post on X, opposition leader Michal Simecka said he was “shocked and appalled” by the shooting.
“We unequivocally and strongly condemn any violence. We trust that Prime Minister Fico will be fine and that this terrible act will be brought to light as soon as possible,” Simecka said.
Former Slovak President Zuzana Caputova also said on X that she was “utterly shocked by today’s brutal attack on Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico, which I condemn in the strongest possible terms.” Advertisement
European Union President Ursula von der Leyen added that she also “strongly” condemned “the vile attack on Prime Minister Robert Fico.
“Such acts of violence have no place in our society and undermine democracy, our most precious common good. My thoughts are with PM Fico, his family,” she said.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on X, he was “horrified and outraged at the attack on the Slovak Prime Minister. Spain stands with Robert Fico, his family and the Slovak people at this extremely difficult time.”
Fico had faced accusations of corruption, which he has denied, as well as criticism for saying he would not arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin under an existing international criminal warrant if Putin visited Slovakia.
He is serving his third term as Slovakian Prime Minister after he resigned in 2018 after widespread outrage over the murder of a Slovakia journalist who was investigating organized crime links with government officials.
Fico’s pro-Russia Smer-SSD party won the biggest share of parliament seats in Slovakia’s October 2023 election.
