Suspected bullet holes found in parking lot near scene of Abe attack

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:31 JST, July 13, 2022

Nara prefectural police found suspected bullet holes on Wednesday on the wall of a parking lot about 90 meters away from the scene of the fatal shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Nara City.

The police restricted access to the area around the site immediately after the incident but widened the search area based on the ongoing investigation.

When the 41-year-old suspect Tetsuya Yamagami fired two shots from behind Abe, he was facing north. It is believed that the homemade gun he used was designed to discharge a casing containing six small projectiles with each shot.

A team of about 50 investigators examined the scene of the attack for about two hours Wednesday, starting before 5:00 a.m., with nearby roads closed to the public.

Investigators combed the area from the position where Abe was standing to about 100 meters north of the scene.

According to the prefectural police, bullet holes were found in a campaign car parked 20 meters away soon after the attack.

On Wednesday, three suspected bullet holes were also found at heights ranging from 4-8 meters on the wall of a commercial facility’s multi-story parking lot.