Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has passed away

(CNN) — Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe died on Friday, the head of Nara Medical University, which treated him, confirmed at a press conference.

He was pronounced dead at 5:03 pm local time, a hospital official said.

Abe was shot later that day during a speech in Nara.

The bullet that killed Japan’s former president Shinzo Abe was “deep enough to reach his heart,” Nara Medical University doctors treating him told a press conference on Friday.

Abe was bleeding profusely and doctors were unable to stop the bleeding, medical officials said.

Former Prime Minister Abe died of a blood clot, according to doctors who treated him. During the operation, the doctors faced difficulties in stopping the bleeding, they added in the press conference.

A few hours ago, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Abe was in critical condition He was also given emergency treatment.

Doctors are “fighting to save” Abe, Kishida told a news conference on Friday.

Abe was giving a campaign speech on the streets of Nara, Japan, to support Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) candidates ahead of Sunday’s upper house elections.

After continuing his speeches in Kyoto, he plans to visit Saitama Prefecture, which neighbors the capital Tokyo.

Abe served as Prime Minister from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. Abe was carried away on a stretcher by helicopter after being shot at a campaign rally on July 8, 2022. (Credit: The Asahi Shimbun/Getty Images)

Police arrested Yamagami Tetsuya, 40, of Nara, in connection with the shooting death of Abe, public broadcaster NHK reported, citing police sources, adding that the suspect used a self-made weapon. .

The man did not try to flee, NHK reported. He is being interrogated at Nara Nishi Police Station.

Security police tackle a suspect suspected of shooting Abe in Nara, Japan on July 8. A hand-made weapon lies on the ground next to a security officer apprehending the suspect. (Credit: The Asahi Shimbun/Getty Images)

This photo shows Abe moments before he was shot outside Yamatosaiji Station in Nara, Japan on July 8. (Credit: The Asahi Shimbun/Getty Images)

Shinzo Abe served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020, making him the longest serving Japanese Prime Minister in history. He resigned from the post of Prime Minister citing health reasons before the end of his term in 2020.