YAMAGAMI. Tetsuya Yamagami, alleged killer of Shinzo Abe, was immediately arrested after his act against the former Prime Minister of Japan. What we know about him.
[Mise à jour le 8 juillet 2022 à 12h06] He was only a few feet away from Shinzo Abe, a gun in his possession. Tetsuya Yamagami is the alleged killer of the former Prime Minister of Japan, fatally wounded by bullets on Friday July 8, 2022, in Nara, 500 km west of Tokyo, while he was holding a speech in the middle of the street as part of of the campaign for the senatorial elections organized in the country. The assassin managed to slip behind the former head of government before opening fire, resulting in his death. If he tried to flee, the man was quickly apprehended by the security service and the police, who arrested him. The first elements on the individual have begun to be delivered.
Tetsuya Yamagami, alleged killer of Shinzo Abe
Mask on the face, gray t-shirt and pants, as well as a black bag worn over the shoulder. It is in an appearance that could not be more banal that Tetsuya Yamagami appeared near the stage on which Shinzo Abe climbed to make his speech. The man, who managed, it seems, not to attract the attention of the security services, positioned himself behind the scene, therefore behind the back of the former Prime Minister. During the speech of the former head of government, he then opened fire twice, the second bullet fatally wounding Shinzo Abe.
He is a 41-year-old man, according to the first elements collected by national television. NHK. Still according to the same source, the alleged assassin is a former member of the Japanese Navy Self-Defense Force, in which he had engaged between 2002 and 2005. The man would live in Nara. A search is already underway at the home of a forty-year-old whose profession is, at this stage, unknown.
What weapon did Tetsuya Yamagami use against Shinzo Abe?
According to the accounts of those present and videos circulating, Tetsuya Yamagami managed to hide his weapon until the last moment. He even made her up on camera, which is why he managed to get so close to Shinzo Abe. The weapon was seized as soon as the suspect was arrested, but it is neither a pistol nor a rifle. Indeed, the weapon would be artisanal, made from the iron pipe and a wooden stock.
Did Tetsuya Yamagami explain his gesture?
The assassination of Shinzo Abe is not insignificant. However, Tetsuya Yamagami has not expressed any political demands and does not appear to be affiliated with any radicalized political group. However, after his arrest, the presumed assassin would have justified his act according to NHK. “I was unhappy with former Prime Minister Abe and wanted to kill him,” he reportedly said, before adding that “this is not a grudge against the former Prime Minister’s political beliefs.”