Who is Tetsuya Yamagami? Shinzo Abe’s suspected shooter arrested as former Japanese Prime Minister dies at 67

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, 67, died on Friday after being shot twice from behind in the region's Nara Prefecture. Authorities have identified the suspect in the assassination as Tetsuya Yamagami, a 41-year-old Nara resident who previously served in Japan's Maritime Defense Force, a Naval Unit of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces.

According to various reports, Shinzo Abe was making a speech at 11:30 am on July 8 when Tetsuya Yamagumi allegedly fired two shots at him with an improvised firearm. Abe had a gunshot wound on the right side of the neck and was bleeding internally in his chest.

A young woman at the scene described the shooting to local outlets.

She said:

"The first shot sounded like a toy. He didn't fall and there was a large bang. The second shot was more visible, you could see the spark and smoke. After the second shot, people surrounded (Shinzo Abe) and gave him a cardiac massage."

While NHK reporters at the scene described Abe as "responsive," the BBC later reported that he had gone into cardiopulmonary arrest. Shinzo Abe passed away from his wounds on the same afternoon.

Reportedly, the suspected gunman, Tetsuya Yamagumi, made no effort to flee after shooting Abe. Officers quickly detained him at the scene.

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All there is to know about the man who allegedly killed Shinzo Abe

According to reports, Tetsuya Yamagumi is believed to be a Nara resident who served in Japan's Maritime Defense Force for three years, from 2002 to 2005.

Various reports suggest that Yamagumi allegedly expressed that he was driven to violence because he was "dissatisfied" with the former Prime Minister, who was campaigning for a parliamentary election in the city of Nara.

Police claim that Yamagumi said:

"I targeted Shinzo Abe with the intention of killing him."

However, NHK also reported that, according to later police interviews, Yamagumi claimed that his dissatisfaction with Shinzo Abe was not political in nature.

According to local outlets, Yamagumi told authorities:

"(I have) no grudge against Abe's political beliefs."

Police recovered what appeared to be a homemade "double-barrel shotgun" from his possession. However, officers on the scene contradicted that it was a shotgun, saying that the gunshots sounded more like "fireworks."

While the improvised firearm was discovered on Yamagumi, authorities also recovered explosives after searching his home. He is currently under police custody. Charges against him have not yet been disclosed.

Fumio Kishida, the current Prime Minister of Japan, condemned the shooting in an official press release.

Kishida said:

"It is a despicable act of barbarity that occurred when an election, which is the basis of democracy, is being held and is totally unacceptable."

The presence of these weapons has been a shocking discovery for the Japanese public. As per Gun Policy, Japan has the lowest gun violence rate in the world, after Singapore.