Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico remains in critical condition after being shot several times from close range as he walked among a small crowd following a government meeting in the town of Handlova, but his injuries are no longer considered life threatening, according to a senior government official.
Video from the scene showed Fico approach a small crowd of mainly elderly people when several shots rang out and the 59-year-old prime minister slumped backward to the ground. Secret service officers quickly rushed to his aid and carried him to a car that sped off toward a local medical facility.
He was then airlifted to a hospital in the central Slovak city of Banska Bystrica where doctors operated for several hours.
Officials said at the time that Fico was shot in an “assassination attempt” and was in a life-threatening condition.
Deputy Prime Minister Tomas Taraba later told the BBC in an interview that “fortunately, as far as I know the operation went well - and I guess in the end he will survive...he's not in a life threatening situation at this moment."
"He was heavily injured -- one bullet went thought the stomach and the second one hit the joint -- immediately he was transported to the hospital and then to the operation," Taraba said.
There was no official statement confirming Taraba’s assessment.
WATCH: 'An Attack On Democracy': Leaders Condemn Shooting Of Slovak PM Fico
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'An Attack On Democracy': Leaders Condemn Shooting Of Slovak PM Fico
Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok told reporters that an initial investigation showed there was “a clear political motivation” behind the attack on Fico.
Fico, a political veteran in Slovakia who returned to be the prime minister for a fourth time after his Smer-SD party won an election last September, had emerged from a government meeting in the town of Handlova, nearly 200 kilometers northeast of the Slovak capital, when he was shot by a lone gunman. Witnesses said four or five gunshots were heard.
Police could be seen holding down a person who is thought to be the shooter in several videos of the incident.
An elderly man could be seen in handcuffs on the ground surrounded by police officers. The suspected shooter’s name has not been released, but Sutaj said he could confirm that the man was suspected as the lone gunman.
A government statement issued said Fico was transported by helicopter to Banska Bystrica "in a life-threatening condition, because it would take too long to get to Bratislava due to the necessity of an acute intervention."
The shooting was immediately condemned by leaders around the world who expressed shock that a peaceful democracy like Slovakia would be the place of such a crime.
"Such acts of violence have no place in our society and undermine democracy, our most precious common good. My thoughts are with PM Fico, his family," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the "news of the cowardly assassination attempt on Slovakian Prime Minister Fico shocks me deeply. Violence must have no place in European politics."
U.S. President Joe Biden said he was alarmed by the reports of the attack on Fico. He said he and his wife, first lady Jill Biden, were praying for a swift recovery, "and our thoughts are with his family and the people of Slovakia."
Biden also said in a statement that he condemned "this horrific act of violence" and said the U.S. Embassy "is in close touch with the government of Slovakia and ready to assist.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy denounced the attack, saying that every effort should be made to ensure that violence does not become the norm in any country.
A populist who has taken several extreme policy positions over the years, Fico has been a critic of military support for Ukraine in its battle to repel Russian troops. His coalition government halted Slovak shipments of weapons for Kyiv and opposes sanctions against Moscow for the Ukraine invasion. Fico has also said he would veto any move to invite Ukraine to join the NATO military alliance.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called the assassination attempt "a despicable crime" in a message to Slovak President Zuzana Caputova.
Analysts said the attack on Fico pointed to the deep political polarization in Slovakia that has emerged over the past year. They added that the tiny EU member was not alone in experiencing such divisiveness, with many countries across Europe being in a similar situation.
Since the election, Fico’s government, which includes the far-right nationalist SNS party, has taken several decisions that have sparked protests and accusations from the opposition that the prime minister was eroding democratic institutions to tighten his grip on power.
Slovakia's largest opposition party had planned a protest against government reforms to the public broadcaster later on May 15, but canceled the event due to the shooting.
The rally was called because last month Fico’s cabinet backed a Culture Ministry proposal to abolish the existing Radio and Television of Slovakia and replace it with a new body, Slovak Television and Radio.
The new entity’s director-general is to be chosen by a council comprised of members appointed by the cabinet and the Fico-controlled parliament.
Last year, parliament approved a plan to close the special prosecutor’s office that oversaw sensitive corruption cases and serious crimes, raising concerns in the EU that Fico was eroding the rule of law in the country.
Fico said the office had abused its authority.