Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is wounded after he was shot from behind while giving a speech near Yamato-Saidaiji Station Friday in the western city of Nara, Japan. Photo: VCG

Emergency staff rush Abe to hospital via helicopter. Abe was in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest, a term often used before a death is officially confirmed in Japan, according to Japan’s public broadcaster NHK. Photo: VCG

Security police tackle the man who is believed to have shot Abe. The suspect, identified as Tetsuya Yamagami by police, is a resident of Nara in his 40s, has been taken into custody, according to NHK. Photo: VCG

The suspect worked for the Maritime Self-Defense Force for three years until around 2005. He was dissatisfied with Abe and wanted to kill him, NHK reported. Photo: VCG

Police cars and fire trucks gather at the site where Abe got shot in front of Yamato-Saidaiji Station Friday in Nara. Photo: VCG

Japan’s longest-serving prime minister was making a campaign speech ahead of this Sunday’s upper house elections when he was shot. Photo: VCG

People watch a news broadcast of the shooting on a street in Tokyo’s Yurakucho area on Friday. Photo: IC Photo