After being shot, Slovakian PM Robert Fico is in stable but critical condition, according to physicians

Following several gunshots on Wednesday, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is in a stable but critical condition, according to medical professionals.

Robert Kalinak, the deputy prime minister, continued by stating that Mr. Fico's wounds were "complicated".

Earlier, it was reported that Mr. Fico, 59, was struggling for his life after the incident in the little village of Handlova, where he suffered serious injuries.

At the site of the incident, a suspect was taken into custody.

The patient's health was stabilized over the night, according to Mr. Kalinak, the minister of defense, but he added that the patient's severe injuries meant that the situation remained very dangerous.

In the past, Tomas Taraba, another Deputy Prime Minister, told the BBC that Mr. Fico's operation had gone "well" and that "I guess that at the end he will survive."

It was an attempt at assassination with political motivation, according to Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estoka.

Because of his demands to lift sanctions on Russia and to stop providing military support to Ukraine, Mr. Fico is a contentious figure both at home and in the EU.

However, the shooting has drawn widespread outrage and been called an assault on democracy.

Gunman shot at close range

The prime minister was having a meeting at a cultural center in Handlova when a small group of Fico supporters assembled outside the building including the shooter.

The security guards for Mr. Fico were totally unprepared for the incident. After being shot, the prime minister is shown on camera being taken away from the scene by a number of cops, who then load him into a vehicle.

Mr. Fico was struck in the arm and stomach by five close-range rounds fired by the assailant.

According to Mr. Kalinak, he was taken to the hospital right away after the gunshot and had to spend many hours in surgery "fighting for his life".

Mr. Taraba said that Mr. Fico was "not in [a] life-threatening situation at this moment" subsequently Wednesday on the BBC's Newshour program.

"From very close," he said, the prime minister was shot; "one bullet went through the stomach as well as the second one hit the joint."

How Robert Fico became the political tyrant of Slovakia

The supposed suspect has not yet been named by the police. Unverified local media sources claim that he was a political activist and writer who was 71 years old.

There is a video circulating on Slovak media that seems to show the suspect.

The individual in the video expresses his disagreement with government policies and its treatment of state media. The circumstances surrounding the video's capture are unknown to the BBC, nor is it known whether the individual in it is the offender who was arrested there.

The incident occurred on the same day that parliament started debating the government's plan to disband RTVS, Slovakia's national broadcaster.

In recent weeks, thousands of Slovaks have demonstrated against the planned changes to the national broadcaster. However, as soon as word of the shooting spread on Wednesday, a scheduled protest sponsored by the opposition was canceled.

Deputy Prime Minister Taraba blamed "false concepts" by Slovakia's opposition parties for the shooting in an interview with the BBC.

In a separate interview with the BBC's World Tonight program, Mr. Taraba said, "Our prime minister has stated on multiple occasions that he was afraid that this would happen."

He said that Mr. Fico had issued a warning, saying that the way "false narratives attacked the government can overheat people's reaction as well as lead to something like this."

When the incident occurred, Parliament was in session. According to Slovak media, one of Mr. Fico's party colleagues yelled at opposition Members of Parliament, accusing them of inciting the attack.

At a news conference, Interior Minister Mr. Estok said that the media was part of the atmosphere that precipitated the killing of the 59-year-old, saying, "Many of you were those who were sowing this hatred."

In addition, Mr. Estok expressed his belief that "this assassination [attempt] was politically motivated".

Zuzana Caputova, the departing president of Slovakia, reacted to the assault by saying that something "so serious had happened that we can't even realise it yet".

"The hateful rhetoric we encounter in society leads to hateful acts," she said.

Following the assassination attempt, Slovakia's cabinet and state security council are scheduled to meet on Thursday morning.