Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot multiple times and rushed to a hospital in "life-threatening condition" after a political event Wednesday died.
He was 59.
Fico was shot in the stomach five times in an assassination attempt outside the House of Culture in the town of Handlova, the Associated Press reported. He was there to meet with supporters.
Security personnel quickly dragged Fico to a car to rush him to the hospital, where he was "fighting for his life," Slovakia's Minister of Defense Robert Kaliňák told reporters Wednesday, adding that Fico's condition was "very complex," CNN reported.
The gunman was arrested, however his identity has not yet been disclosed.
Authorities believe the attack was politically motivated.
Slovakian President Zuzana Caputova called the deadly shooting an "attack on democracy," while U.S. President Joe Biden condemned the "horrific act of violence," according to the outlet.
Fico, who was known to be a Kremlin sympathizer, had ties to Russian President Vladmir Putin.
"There can be no justification for this monstrous crime," Putin reportedly told Caputova, the outlet reported.
Fico was in the midst of serving his third term as prime minister when he died. He was most recently reelected to the post in 2023, and previously held the position from 2006 to 2010, and again from 2012 to 2018.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
