Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot on May 15 following a government meeting, according to his office.
A reporter with TASR said that several shots were fired at Mr. Fico near a cultural house in Handlova, located in central Slovakia, and an assailant was detained. The individual’s identity was not disclosed.
His Facebook profile said he was being transported by helicopter to the Banska Bystrica hospital, 63 miles away from Handlova, because it would take too long to get to Bratislava because of the necessity of an acute procedure.
Mr. Fico, 59, fell to the ground after being shot and suffered injuries to his chest and head, she said, adding that three or four shots rang out.
A video that was apparently taken at the scene showed Mr. Fico’s security team moving him to a black car.
Outgoing Slovak President Zuzana Caputova strongly condemned the attack on Mr. Fico, saying in a statement that she is “shocked” and wishes him “strength at this critical moment to recover from the attack.”
“I am appalled at where hatred for a different political opinion can lead,” she said. “We don’t have to agree with everything, but there are many ways to express our disagreement democratically and legally.”
President-elect Peter Pellegrini wrote that he wishes “the prime minister a speedy recovery,” adding that the “senseless and brutal act becomes the target of general condemnation.”
“I strongly condemn 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 wrote on social media.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg wrote on social media platform X that he was “shocked and appalled by the shooting.”
Mr. Fico first joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in 1986 before joining its successor party in 1996. As a member of Slovakia’s center-left for years, he has alternated between the pro-European mainstream and nationalistic positions opposed to European Union and U.S. policies. He has also shown a willingness to change course depending on public opinion or evolving political realities.
Following the shooting, Slovakia’s biggest opposition party called off a planned protest against government public broadcaster reforms set for the evening of May 15.
“We absolutely and strongly condemn violence and today’s shooting of Premier Robert Fico,” Progressive Slovakia leader Michal Simecka said in a statement. “At the same time we call on all politicians to refrain from any expressions and steps which could contribute to further increasing the tension.”
Mr. Fico’s party, Smer—or Direction—described as center-left, won the country’s September 2023 parliamentary elections.
