(New York Post) This is the clunky homemade weapon used to assassinate former Japanese leader Shinzo Abe Friday in a country that has some of the strictest gun laws in the world.
Pictures from the shocking attack appear to show the killer — identified as 41-year-old military veteran Tetsuya Yamagami — tossing the crude, black tape-covered firearm moments after gunning down the ex-prime minister.
It remained near the assassin’s feet as security tackled him to the ground — while others started doomed attempts to save Abe, 67, who bled to death from two deep gunshot wounds, including one in the neck.
The images show what appears to be a rudimentary double-barrelled shotgun, with two tubes taped together atop a wooden body and a black handle.
The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Imag
The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Imag
The “craft-made” firearm appeared to be similar to a Civil War-era musket, in which the gunpowder or the propellant is loaded separately to the bullet projectile, according to N.R. Jenzen-Jones, the director of Armament Research Services, a specialist arms investigations firm.
Military officials told public broadcaster NHK that Yamagami had been in the Maritime Self-Defense Force for three years — from 2002 to 2005 — and was “frustrated” with Abe.
The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Imag
The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Imag
Yomiuri Shimbun/AFP via Getty Im
Police found several possible explosives during a raid on Yamagami’s home, and the suspect confessed that he had “manufactured multiple pistols and explosives so far,” NHK said.
Other local reports said that he told cops he initially planned to blow up Abe, but decided to instead build a gun because he feared a bomb was less reliable.
