Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has died after being shot while campaigning in the western city of Nara, according to local media

The NHK broadcaster and the Kyodo news agency reported Abe’s death on Friday, hours after the 67-year-old was shot in the chest and the neck.

The outlets cited sources in Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

Officials said Abe was shot at about 11:30am (02:30 GMT) while he was delivering a campaign speech on the street near a train station in Nara.

NHK said its reporter on the scene heard a gun going off twice before Abe collapsed to the ground, clutching his chest and bleeding.

He was immediately taken to the hospital, but local media reported fire officials saying at the time that he was not showing any vital signs.

A 41-year-old male suspect was arrested at the scene.

Abe served as Japan’s prime minister from December 2012 to September 2020, making him the country’s longest serving prime minister.