Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe died after he was shot while delivering a campaign speech ahead of the parliamentary election on a street in the western city of Nara Friday morning, public broadcaster NHK reported. He was 67.<\/p>\n
Abe was shot from behind at around 11:30 a.m. local time when he was speaking in front of Kintetsu Railway’s Yamato-Saidaiji Station, reports quoting police said.<\/p>\n
Abe was immediately admitted in Nara Medical University hospital, where he was declared dead at 5:03 p.m local time.<\/p>\n
He died from excessive bleeding after the bullet pierced into his heart, doctors said in a news conference. A bullet also hit his neck.<\/p>\n
Police have arrested a 41-year-old man following the attack on suspicion of attempted murder. A homemade gun was retrieved from him, according to the police.<\/p>\n
The longest-serving Prime Minister in Japan’s history, Abe was also a popular leader. <\/p>\n