Robert Fico: Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico (59) was attacked on May 16, 2024. He was shot five times after a government meeting. There was chaos at the spot after the firing. He was somehow evacuated from there in a hurry. Let’s know the important things related to the attack on the PM:
News agency ‘Associated Press’ (AP) reported that the life of Robert Fico, who was injured by the bullets, is in danger. News agency ‘CNN’ reported, quoting Slovakia’s Defense Minister, that the PM is currently fighting a battle between life and death. Till the time of writing the news, he was being treated in the hospital.
CCTV footage of the attack in the town of Handlova, about 180 km northeast of the capital Bratislava, showed Robert Fico shaking hands with supporters when suddenly a gunman fired at him about five times. He fell down after this and was immediately taken to a hospital in Banska Bystrica.
After the attack, the attacker was caught by PM Robert Fico’s security guards and people standing nearby. The attacker has been identified as 71-year-old Juraj Cintula. Juraj Cintula was reportedly a poet and founder of the Slovak Association of Writers as well as a supporter of the opposition Progressive Slovakia Party. He used a licensed gun to attack the PM.
CNN also reported that the shooting happened after an off-site government meeting in Handlova when the attacker walked into a small group of people who were waiting outside a cultural centre to greet Prime Minister Robert Fico.
BBC news quoted Defence Minister Robert Kalinak as saying, “The PM has undergone surgery. It lasted three and a half hours. He is currently fighting for his life.” Slovakia’s Home Minister Matusz Sutaj Estok called the attack on the PM an assassination attempt. He said that the assassination attempt was politically motivated and this decision was taken just after the presidential election. He blamed the hatred spread through social media for the attack.
He went forward, met and then was riddled with five bullets…
How was Slovakia’s PM Robert Fico attacked, watch VIDEO
There was a major lapse in the security of Slovakia Prime Minister Robert Fico on Thursday (May 16, 2024) when a deadly attack was made on him. The attacker, hidden among a small group, shot him five times with a licensed gun. During the attack, the Slovak PM was shot in the stomach and after this his security personnel immediately came into action mode. They were seen rescuing him from there with full agility and alertness.
A video related to Robert Fico’s rescue has surfaced on social media. In this 22-second clip shared on ‘X’ (earlier Twitter) from the handle @nexta_tv, security guards were seen carrying PM Robert Fico from there as if they were angels amidst the chaos. Two security personnel were holding the injured PM to support him, while two were covering him from a little behind so that no one could shoot at him. Apart from these four security personnel, there were other guards as well, who were seen forming a security cordon.
The security guards quickly put the Slovak PM in the car and he went straight to the hospital. When he was leaving from there, the people present there looked very shocked and upset. There were many women and elderly people on the spot, who were praying for Robert Fico’s safety. See what happened during the incident:
After the deadly attack, Slovakia’s PM Robert Fico fell down. He was immediately taken to the hospital in Banska Bystrica. Media reports quoted the Defense Minister as saying that the PM’s condition is really critical at the moment. He underwent surgery, which lasted about three and a half hours.
Robert Fico was appointed PM in October 2023
Robert Fico was appointed PM of Slovakia for the fourth time in October 2023. His party Smer won the September election with 22.94 percent of the votes. He has committed the Central European country Slovakia to a neutral stance on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
Slovakia (official name- Slovak Republic) is a landlocked country in Central Europe, bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west and the Czech Republic to the northwest.
