Man Who Assassinated Abe Tried to Make Bomb and 'Multiple Guns', Reports Suggest

TOKYO (Sputnik) -Tetsuya Yamagami, the man who shot and killed former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told police he had tried to make a bomb, the Kyodo news agency reports citing investigative sources.

Yamagami also said he "made multiple guns," the sources told Kyodo on Sunday, adding that police have found and confiscated guns at the attacker’s home in Nara, similar to the gun used by the shooter on Friday.

Abe was attacked on Friday morning in the Japanese city of Nara during his campaign speech. Yamagami approached the politician from behind and fired two shots from a distance of about 10 meters (33 feet). Police said Abe was conscious immediately after being wounded, but then, during transportation, his condition became critical "with cardiac and pulmonary arrest." Later in the day, Nara Medical University hospital pronounced him dead.

In this file photo taken on April 21, 2015 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe waves as he leaves to Indonesia at the Tokyo International Airport in Tokyo.

© AFP 2023 / -

According to Kyodo, Yamagami was sent to prosecutors on Sunday. Asked about his motive, he said his mother had made a "huge donation" to a religious organization which he believed was associated with Abe, and he harbored a grudge against the group.

Sources told Kyodo that Yamagami allegedly said that he initially intended to attack "an executive of the group," but changed his mind and decided to target Abe instead.