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Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was killed. Here’s what the scene was like

VPM | By Catie Dull
Published July 8, 2022 at 3:00 PM EDT
Updated April 21, 2023
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe makes a speech before he was shot from behind by a man in Nara, a city in western Japan, on Friday.
The Asahi Shimbun / Reuters
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe makes a speech before he was shot from behind by a man in Nara, a city in western Japan, on Friday.

Shinzo Abe, Japan’s former prime minister, has died after being shot during a speech in western Japan.

The country’s longest-serving prime minister, Abe was campaigning for a parliamentary election in Nara when he was shot from behind. He arrived at Nara Medical University without any vital signs and was eventually declared deceased.

Police in Nara arrested the suspected gunman, who was carrying what appeared to be a handmade, double-barreled weapon.

Here is what the scene looked like:

Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. utm.gif?utmac=UA 5828686 4&utmdt=Japan%27s+former+Prime+Minister+Shinzo+Abe+was+killed

People on the street watch a TV broadcasting news about Shinzo Abe, the former prime minister of Japan, who was fatally shot while campaigning for a Liberal Democratic Party candidate at a gathering in Nara, Japan, on Friday.
People on the street watch a TV broadcasting news about Shinzo Abe, the former prime minister of Japan, who was fatally shot while campaigning for a Liberal Democratic Party candidate at a gathering in Nara, Japan, on Friday. David Mareuil / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Police officers at the scene where former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot during a political event in Nara, Japan, on Friday. Abe was unresponsive after being shot and later declared deceased at an area hospital, shocking a nation where gun violence is rare.
Police officers at the scene where former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot during a political event in Nara, Japan, on Friday. Abe was unresponsive after being shot and later declared deceased at an area hospital, shocking a nation where gun violence is rare. Kosuke Okahara / Bloomberg via Getty Images
A man believed to have shot former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is tackled by police officers in Nara, a city in western Japan, on Friday.
A man believed to have shot former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is tackled by police officers in Nara, a city in western Japan, on Friday. The Asahi Shimbun / Reuters
People crowd around to pick up an extra addition of a newspaper reporting the shooting of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe along a street in Tokyo on Friday.
People crowd around to pick up an extra addition of a newspaper reporting the shooting of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe along a street in Tokyo on Friday. / Jiji Press/AFP via Getty Images
A photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter in Nara, a city in western Japan, on Friday, shows a helicopter carrying doctors and wounded former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, heading to the Nara Medical University Hospital in Kashihara.
A photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter in Nara, a city in western Japan, on Friday, shows a helicopter carrying doctors and wounded former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, heading to the Nara Medical University Hospital in Kashihara. / Kyodo via Reuters
A woman reacts in front of a makeshift memorial outside Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara, a city in western Japan, where former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot and killed while speaking at a political event Friday.
A woman reacts in front of a makeshift memorial outside Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara, a city in western Japan, where former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot and killed while speaking at a political event Friday. Philip Fong / AFP via Getty Images
Members of the media gather in front of the Nara Medical University Hospital where Shinzo Abe was taken after being shot while speaking at a political event on Friday in Nara, a city in western Japan.
Members of the media gather in front of the Nara Medical University Hospital where Shinzo Abe was taken after being shot while speaking at a political event on Friday in Nara, a city in western Japan. Yuichi Yamazaki / Getty Images
Pedestrians are silhouetted against a large public video screen showing an image of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the Akihabara district of Tokyo on Friday after he was shot and killed in the city of Nara.
Pedestrians are silhouetted against a large public video screen showing an image of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the Akihabara district of Tokyo on Friday after he was shot and killed in the city of Nara. Toshifumi Kitamura / AFP via Getty Images
Kimihiko Kichikawa (center left), the head of the university hospital, and Hidetada Fukushima (center right), professor of emergency medicine at the Nara Medical University Hospital, hold a news conference in Kashihara, Japan, where former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was taken after being shot earlier Friday.
Kimihiko Kichikawa (center left), the head of the university hospital, and Hidetada Fukushima (center right), professor of emergency medicine at the Nara Medical University Hospital, hold a news conference in Kashihara, Japan, where former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was taken after being shot earlier Friday. Philip Fong / AFP via Getty Images
A man prays outside the Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara, a city in western Japan, where former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot earlier in the day Friday.
A man prays outside the Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara, a city in western Japan, where former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot earlier in the day Friday. Philip Fong / AFP via Getty Images
Akie Abe (center), the wife of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, arrives at the Yamato-yagi Station on her way to the Nara Medical University Hospital where her husband was transferred after being shot at a political event on Friday in Nara, Japan.
Akie Abe (center), the wife of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, arrives at the Yamato-yagi Station on her way to the Nara Medical University Hospital where her husband was transferred after being shot at a political event on Friday in Nara, Japan. Yuichi Yamazaki / Getty Images
Japan's Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, speaks to media at the Prime Minister's official residence on Friday in Tokyo.
Japan’s Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, speaks to media at the Prime Minister’s official residence on Friday in Tokyo. Eugene Hoshiko / AP
A man prays after putting a bouquet of flowers at a makeshift memorial at the scene where former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot to death while delivering a speech in support of a Liberal Democratic Party candidate at a political event in Nara, Japan, on Friday.
A man prays after putting a bouquet of flowers at a makeshift memorial at the scene where former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot to death while delivering a speech in support of a Liberal Democratic Party candidate at a political event in Nara, Japan, on Friday. Hiro Komae / AP

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Catie Dull

Catie Dull (she/her) is a short-form video producer and photojournalist on the NPR visuals team. She is from Wilmington, North Carolina and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BA in Photo and Video Journalism.

Dull started at NPR as an intern in 2019. In her time at NPR, she has produced visual coverage for stories across the newsroom, specifically covering politics, science, international and breaking news. In 2024, she traveled to Israel twice to cover the Israel-Hamas war.

Dull’s work received 1st place, 3rd place and the Award of Excellence in the White House News Photographers Association 2024 Eyes of History®: Digital Storytelling contest. Her work was also awarded the gold medal by College Photographer of the Year for Multimedia: Online Storytelling in 2019 for her work on a team in Medellin, Colombia covering the Venezuelan migration crisis. [Copyright 2024 NPR]

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