Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, admitted to shooting Abe, Nara Nishi police said during a press conference on Friday. Yamagami, who is unemployed, told investigators he harbored hatred for a particular group he believed Abe was associated with. Police did not name the group. Yamagami is being investigated as a suspect in a murder case to which 90 investigators have been assigned, according to police.
What kind of weapon was fired?
The suspect used an improvised weapon in the shooting, police said, and images from the scene showed it was a gun with two cylindrical metal barrels wrapped in black tape. Authorities later seized several handgun-like artifacts from the suspect’s apartment. The weapon was a gun-like object that was 40 centimeters (about 16 inches) long and 20 centimeters wide, police said. Yamagami made multiple types of weapons with iron pipes that were wrapped in duct tape, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK reported, citing police. The police found guns with three, five and six iron tubes as barrels. The suspect put bullets into his homemade gun, parts of which he had bought online, police said, according to NHK. Police believe the suspect used the most powerful weapon they made in the killing, NHK added.
How did the security forces react?
At the time of the shooting, Abe was speaking in support of ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) candidates ahead of the July 10 upper house election. Despite stepping down as Japan’s prime minister in 2020 for health reasons, Abe remained a powerful figure in the country’s political landscape and continued to campaign for the LDP. Japan’s National Police Agency said it would review security arrangements put in place before Friday’s shooting, according to NHK. Security was handled by the Nara Prefectural Police, who put together a security plan for the former prime minister while he was in the city. The agency said several dozen officers and security personnel from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police were on duty and were reportedly watching Abe from all sides during his speech, NHK reported.
title: “Tetsuya Yamagami What We Know About The Man Suspected Of Shooting Shinzo Abe " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-06” author: “Diane Lyons”
Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, admitted to shooting Abe, Nara Nishi police said during a press conference on Friday. Yamagami, who is unemployed, told investigators he harbored hatred for a particular group he believed Abe was associated with. Police did not name the group. Yamagami is being investigated as a “murder suspect” in a case to which 90 investigators have been assigned, police said. On Sunday morning, he was taken to the Nara District Prosecutor’s Office.
What kind of weapon was fired?
The suspect used an improvised weapon in the shooting, police said, and images from the scene showed it was a gun with two cylindrical metal barrels wrapped in black tape. Authorities later seized several handgun-like artifacts from the suspect’s apartment. The weapon was a gun-like object that was 40 centimeters (about 16 inches) long and 20 centimeters wide, police said. Yamagami made multiple types of weapons with iron pipes that were wrapped in duct tape, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK reported, citing police. The police found guns with three, five and six iron tubes as barrels. The suspect put bullets into his homemade gun, parts of which he had bought online, police said, according to NHK. Police believe the suspect used the most powerful weapon they made in the killing, NHK added.
What was the suspect’s plan?
The suspect told investigators he originally intended to kill Abe using explosives, according to Japan’s public broadcaster NHK. Yamagami initially planned to assassinate Abe at an event in Okayama, a prefecture about three hours’ drive from Nara, NHK reported. “I was thinking of killing the former prime minister there (Okayama), but I saw that there were admission procedures at the entrance and I felt it would be difficult to get in,” he told investigators, according to NHK. Nara police told CNN on Saturday that surveillance footage showed Yamagami leaving Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara on Friday after arriving by train.
How did the security forces react?
At the time of the shooting, Abe was speaking in support of ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) candidates ahead of the July 10 upper house election. Despite stepping down as Japan’s prime minister in 2020 for health reasons, Abe remained a powerful figure in the country’s political landscape and continued to campaign for the LDP. Japan’s National Police Agency said it would review security arrangements put in place before Friday’s shooting, according to NHK. Security was handled by the Nara Prefectural Police, who put together a security plan for the former prime minister while he was in the city. The agency said several dozen officers and security personnel from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police were on duty and were reportedly watching Abe from all sides during his speech, NHK reported.
