Slovakian populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot Wednesday after a federal government meeting in Handlova, 150 km from capital city Bratislava. Fico, 59, was shot in the stomach, arm and leg, outside the government building House of Culture where he was meeting with supporters, according to local media reports. He was airlifted to hospital and was in critical condition.One suspect has been detained in relation to the shooting. Police have sealed off the scene to conduct an investigation. Deputy Parliament Speaker Lubos Blaha confirmed Fico was shot and injured, according to state news agency TASR. Parliament will not sit until further notice, said Blaha. President Zuzana Caputova condemned the attack as “brutal and ruthless.”“I’m shocked,” said Caputova, per Slovakian news agency TA3. “I wish Robert Fico a lot of strength in this critical moment and a quick recovery from this attack.”The office of the prime minister, officially the head of the Government of the Slovak Republic, is the third highest constitutional office in Slovakia, after the National Council of the Slovak Republic (Parliament) and the President of the Republic, per the European Commission. .Media reports claim the shooter is 71-year-old poet and member of the pro-Western Progressive Party, Juraj Cintula. Cintula had previously been critical on ssocial media of Fico and his government.
