'Lone wolf' was behind shooting of Slovakia's Fico, minister says

Bodyguards take Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico to safety in a car from the scene of the incident. Fico had been shot and injured after a cabinet meeting in the town of Handlova. Radovan Stoklasa/TASR/dpa

A man described as a "lone wolf" has been charged with the attempted murder of Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok said.

Eštok said the 71-year-old suspect was motivated by political grievances to try and assassinate Fico.

He described the man as a "lone wolf" who is "not a member of a radicalised political group, either right-wing nor left-wing."

The prime minister was shot four times and remains in hospital in serious condition.

Minister of Interior of the Slovak Republic Matus Sutaj-Estok (C) speaks during a press conference after an extraordinary meeting of the Security Council of the Slovak Republic in Bratislava. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot after a government meeting in Handlova on Wednesday. Pavel Neubauer/TASR/dpa

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