Today , Prime Minister Slovakia's Robert Fico shot in assassination attempt

Slovakia’s prime minister, robert Fico, is in a stable but serious condition after being shot five times from a close range and undergoing surgery, his deputy said Thursday, an assassination attempt that rocked the central European country and sparked global condemnation.

The 59-year-old populist leader, who returned to power last year and whose controversial reforms have sparked protests in recent weeks, was attacked on Wednesday after an off-site government meeting in the town of Handlova.

The prime minister had approached a small crowd of people waiting to meet him, when the suspected gunman in the crowd lunged forward and shot him five times from across a security barrier.

Footage from the scene showed the injured prime minister being bundled into a vehicle by his staff, before it speeds away with him inside.

Fico was first rushed into a local hospital and then airlifted to a major trauma center in the nearby city of Banska Bystrica, where he spent more than five hours in surgery.

Visibly shaken and sometimes struggling for words, the two ministers appeared in deep shock over the attack. Later in the news conference, both men struck a more combative tone, blaming the attack on the “hatred” being spread by “some people” and the media.

The alleged shooter has been identified by multiple local media outlets as a 71-year-old man from southern Slovakia.

There has been no official confirmation of the identity of the shooter, but his face was clearly visible in some of the video footage of the attack and his subsequent arrest.

Slovakian media reported the shooter was a writer and a poet. The Slovak Writers’ Association said Wednesday that the name identified in the local media was a member of the group.

Nobody else was injured in the attack. The suspected gunman was detained by police, and the country’s president Zuzana Čaputová said authorities would release more information when they can.

Fico is the most powerful lawmaker in Slovakia. Unlike the president, whose role is more ceremonial and has limited scope, the prime minister holds rank as the decision-making head of government.