Brace for gun-nut impact
Photo (CC BY 4.0)
The story is developing (BBC summary):
- Former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe has been assassinated while giving a campaign speech in southern Japan
- Abe, 67, immediately collapsed after being shot in the neck and was rushed to hospital
- He was pronounced dead about five hours later at 5pm local time (9am UK time)
- The suspected attacker – reported to be a male in his 40s – was tackled at the scene and arrested
- Japan’s current prime minister, Fumio Kishida, says he is “lost for words”, describing Abe as a “personal friend”
- Abe – in office in 2006-07 and 2012-20 – remains the country’s longest-serving PM and best-known political figure internationally
Footage of the event showed Abe giving a speech, then a plume of smoke forming behind him as he collapsed. Officials ran to apprehend the shooter, who appeared to be positioned behind Abe. Videos showed a chaotic scene with Abe, unmoving, lying on the ground as attendees yelled for an ambulance. The bullet wounds were found in the front of Abe’s body, Fukushima said.
In Japan, a country known for its strict gun laws, the murderer may have used a homemade gun. A photo of the improvised weapon found at the scene appears online. Police found what they believe to be explosives in a search of the attacker’s home.
There are and will be more statements of shock from world leaders, as well as tributes to Abe.
Given events here in the U.S. this week, expect gun nuts to insist, “If you ban guns, only criminals …” etc. Criminals will always find a way to get them, they’ll say. They’ll blame mental illness, violent video games. The usual.
Anything to ignore that what makes the assassination in Japan more shocking is how rare gun violence is there because firearms in private hands are harder to get. Japan requires permits, paperwork, background checks, training, storage requirements, refresher courses and permit renewals. There is none of the “militarized peacocking” Henry Grabar (Slate) observes.
That’s the United States. Home of the mass shootings, hardened schools, and active shooter drills. Of open-carry activists “going to Chipotle dressed for Fallujah.”
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