Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister of Slovakia Robert Kalinak, speaks during a media briefing together with hospital director Miriam Lapunikova (left), outside the F. D. Roosevelt University Hospital.
| Photo Credit: AP

“Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico is in a stable but serious condition on May 15, after being shot multiple times in an assassination attempt a day earlier,” a hospital official said.

Doctors are continuing to treat Mr. Fico in an attempt to improve his condition, Defence Minister Robert Kalinak told reporters outside the hospital in Banska Bystrica.

Also Read: ‘Cowardly and dastardly act’: PM Modi condemns attack on Slovak PM Fico

The government says five shots were fired at Mr. Fico on May 15 outside a cultural centre where he was meeting with supporters.

“A suspect was in custody and an initial investigation found “a clear political motivation” behind the assassination attempt,” Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said on Wednesday.

Mr. Fico has long been a divisive figure in Slovakia and beyond, but his return to power last year on a pro-Russian, anti-American message led to even greater worries among fellow European Union members that he would lead his country further from the Western mainstream.

Rescue workers wheel Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and injured, to a hospital in the town of Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the shooting attack on Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, calling it a “cowardly and dastardly act”.

PM Modi further wished the Slovak PM a speedy recovery. Moroever, he expressed support for the people of Slovakia.

Taking on social media X, PM Modi stated, “Deeply shocked at the news of the shooting at Slovakia’s Prime Minister, H.E. Mr. Robert Fico. I strongly condemn this cowardly and dastardly act and wish PM Fico a speedy recovery. India stands in solidarity with the people of the Slovak Republic.”

Mr. Robert Fico, who is a four-time Prime Minister of Slovakia, was wounded in a shooting incident on Wednesday (local time) in Handlova, reported the local newspaper, The Slovak Spectator. He was hospitalised following the attack.

Several shots were fired at the scene when the PM came out to meet the people. The alleged shooter was arrested on-site and the area was evacuated.

According to witnesses, shots were heard when the PM came out to meet the people who welcomed him. Mr. Fico was then seen on the ground with blood stains.The incident took place after a government meeting in Handlova, following which the PM was ospitalised.

PM will survive, says Deputy PM

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Tomas Taraba told the BBC he believed the leader’s hospital procedure had gone well.

“I guess in the end he will survive,” Taraba said. “He’s not in a life-threatening situation at this moment.”

Earlier, Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok told reporters at a hospital in the central city of Banska Bystrica that the prime minister was “in critical condition and his life is in danger”.

Reactions are pouring in from across the globe condemning the shooting attack on Slovak PM Robert Fico and wishing for his speedy recovery.