Suspect fired second shot at Abe from close range

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:53 JST, July 13, 2022

The suspect in the fatal shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe fired his second shot at Abe from close range, according to sources close to the investigation.

Tetsuya Yamagami, an unemployed former member of the Maritime Self-Defense Force from Nara City, fired the second shot from a position about five meters behind Abe on Friday after taking a few steps forward following the first shot and with an interval of two to three seconds elapsing between, the sources said.

Abe died the same day due to a fatal wound caused by the second shot.

According to the Nara prefectural police, footage from security cameras installed around the scene of the crime and other footage show Yamagami standing on the sidewalk across the street from the location where Abe was to give his speech Friday morning. As Abe started his speech, Yamagami crossed the street and fired his first shot, which missed, from about seven meters behind Abe. He then moved forward about two meters, stopped, held up his homemade gun with both hands and fired the second shot.

Metal fragments found

Several metal fragments that appeared to be bullets were found in a building housing a facility related to the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification — the former Unification Church — in Nara City, the Nara prefectural police said Tuesday.

Yamagami told investigators he test-fired his homemade gun on the facility.