Former Japanese Prime Mister Shinzo Abe has died after he was shot earlier in the city of Nara on Friday, 8 July, officials said.

After being shot, Abe (67) was not showing any vital signs. He was not breathing, and his heart stopped while being airlifted to the hospital for a gunshot wound, a fire official was quoted as saying.

The fire department said that the former prime minister was in a state of cardiorespiratory arrest, a term often used in Japan before a death can be confirmed by a coroner.

A man, identified as Yamagami Tetsuya (41), has been arrested for attempted murder and a gun has been confiscated.