Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is expected to recover after being shot multiple times on Wednesday, officials said.
“I think in the end he will survive,” Deputy Prime Minister Tomas Taraba told reporters, according to the Associated Press, adding: “He is not in a life-threatening situation at this time.”
Fico was shot on Wednesday after holding a cabinet meeting in the Trenčín region of central Slovakia, local media outlet TASR said. reported. He was shot in the abdomen and doctors worked to keep him alive hours after the shooting, Defense Minister Robert Kalina told reporters, according to the AP.
A 71-year-old man was detained in connection with the incident, according to Slovak media outlet Dennik N, which also reported that the suspect used a legally purchased weapon.
Slovak President Peter Pellegrini said the shooting was an “assassination attempt.”
“An assassination attempt on one of the highest constitutional officials is an unprecedented threat to Slovak democracy,” Pellegrini said on social platform danger. we built together in 31 years of Slovak sovereignty.”
Slovak Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said Thursday that the accused suspect was a lone wolf who “did not belong to any political group.”
President Biden said he was “alarmed” to learn of the shooting.
“We condemn this horrific act of violence,” Biden said in a statement Wednesday. “Our embassy is in close contact with the Slovak government and ready to help.”
Fico is Slovakia’s longest-serving prime minister, having held office from 2006-2010 and 2012-2018. He returned to power last year, according to the AP, with a pro-Russian, anti-American message, resulting in broader concerns among other European Union members that he would alienate his country from the West.
The Associated Press contributed.
Updated at 8:50 a.m. EDT
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