On 15th May 2024, Slovakia's 59-year-old Prime Minister Robert Fico was brutally shot in Handlova. The attack happened around 2:30 pm local time after a cabinet meeting. As Fico was greeting people, a man from the crowd shot him five times in the stomach.
Fico's bodyguards quickly subdued the attacker, while others rushed the wounded Prime Minister to his car. Dramatic videos of the incident, showing bodyguards carrying Fico to a black car, have gone viral on social media. Remarkably, Fico remained conscious throughout.
Fico was first taken to a nearby hospital and then flown to another hospital in Banska Bystrica for a critical three-hour surgery. In the evening, Deputy Prime Minister Tomas Taraba announced that Fico's surgery was successful and he was no longer in a life-threatening condition.
Slovakia's Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok indicated that the attack might have been politically motivated. Many politicians, including the President, called the shooting an "attack on democracy." Estok and Defence Minister Robert Kalinak blamed hate speech on social media and local media for creating hostility towards Fico. They urged citizens to avoid responding to hate with hate and announced increased protection for officials and public figures.
International leaders, including EU Chief Ursula von der Leyen, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, US President Joe Biden, UK PM Rishi Sunak, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, condemned the attack and wished Fico a speedy recovery.
The attacker, 71-year-old Juraj Cintula, a writer and political activist, was arrested at the scene. A video of Cintula expressing his disagreement with government policies, particularly towards state media, has been circulating online.
Fico, who returned to power for the fourth time after the September 2023 elections, has faced controversy. He stopped military aid to Ukraine in January 2024 and pushed to abolish public broadcaster RTVS in April, sparking widespread protests.
Fico is now being transferred to Bratislava for further care.
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