Slovakia PM Robert Fico's condition stabilized after being shot

Slovakia Prime Minister (PM) Robert Fico’s condition stabilized after being shot five times in Handlova town. Environment Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Tomas Taraba told media reporters that the surgery of Robert Fico went well and he is not in a life-threatening situation at this moment.

According to Tomas, one bullet passed through Fico’s stomach while another hit a joint. Robert was leaving the government meeting the day before when a shooter hit him with five bullets.

Thank you for all the expressions of sympathy and friendship after horrible terrorist attack on Slovak Prime Minister @RobertFico. Slovak Republic has never experienced such a situation. Prime Minister, we pray for your recovery 🙏🏻
— Tomas Taraba – Deputy Prime Minister of Slovakia (@tomas_taraba) May 16, 2024

However, he survived the assassination attempt on his life, but he was critically ill and required surgery. However, The shooting happened in the central town of Handlova. It shocked the European nations and gained international condemnation.

Surprisingly, the shooter was a 71-year-old man. After the shooting, authorities shifted Robert to a hospital in Handlova, where he was presiding over a government meeting. Slovakia police arrested him after the shooting.

After that, Government officials shifted him to Banska Bystrica town for immediate medical care. They could not move him to Bratislava, the capital city, because of his critical condition. However, Slovakia PM Robert Fico’s condition has now stabilized.

According to the local media tvnoviny.sk, Slovakia police have charged the shooter with a murder attempt. The motive for the shooting remains unclear.

However, Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said the shooting incident was politically motivated. It happened after the presidential elections. He attributed the murder attempt of a shooter to his dissatisfaction with the government’s policies.

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According to Matus, the shooter had a serious problem with publicly elected Robert Fico and the policies of the newly elected government such as military aid suspension to Ukraine.

He also said that the shooter was not satisfied with the results of the presidential elections (as Robert Fico won). That’s when he decided to commit an assassination. The assassin was not a member of any radical political group. He was the so-called lonely wolf who had disagreements with government policies.

Slovakia media also reported the shooter was a former security guard at a shopping mall. He is also the author of three poetry collections and a member of the Slovak Society of Writers. However, Slovak official sources did not reveal his name.