Photos and videos show chaos on the scene after former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe was shot while giving a speech in western Japan
- Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot while he was giving a speech on Friday.
- Images and videos uploaded to Twitter show chaos on the scene after he collapsed.
Photos and videos circulating on Twitter captured the chaotic scene that unfolded after former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot during a campaign trail speech on Friday. He had been campaigning for Sunday's upper house election in the city of Nara in western Japan.
A Twitter video using footage from Japanese public broadcaster NHK depicted what appears to be the moment Abe was shot. In the video, Abe can be seen giving a speech before two loud gunshots ring out. Within seconds, officials can be seen tackling a man in a grey shirt to the ground. The video then zooms in on what appears to be two cylinders wrapped in black tape on the ground.
NHK also published another video of the scene to its official Twitter account. In the video, Abe can be seen speaking from an elevated platform before smoke erupts from behind him. The video then cuts to show people rushing to attend to Abe, who appears to be lying on the ground.
Abe was airlifted to a hospital in Nara after the incident, Japanese news outlet Nikkei reported, citing Nara City fire department officials.
A video on Bloomberg's Quicktake Twitter account shows medical officers holding up a blue sheet shielding Abe from view as he's transferred from an ambulance to a helicopter.
The Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications confirmed to Kyodo News that the former Japanese prime minister sustained a gunshot wound to his neck and was bleeding from his left chest.
Abe appeared to be showing no vital signs after the attack, Kyodo News reported, citing Japanese authorities.