Japan’s NHK television says former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has died after being shot during a campaign speech, Associated Press reported.

Abe was shot from behind minutes after he started his speech Friday in Nara in western Japan. He was airlifted to a hospital for emergency treatment but was not breathing and his heart had stopped. He was pronounced dead later at the hospital.

The 67-year-old Abe was Japan’s longest-serving leader before stepping down for health reasons in 2020, according to Associated Press.

Police arrested the suspected gunman at the scene of the attack, which shocked people in a country known as one of the world’s safest.