A pipe bomb was thrown at Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a speech in Western Japan, but security guards quickly reacted to protect the politician, multiple outlets report.
Witnesses say they saw an object that appeared to be a thin, metal thermos that flew and landed near the prime minister, believed to be a homemade pipe bomb, ABC News has reported. The incident comes just nine months after the former Japanese prime minister was assassinated.
In footage posted by the Daily Wire, the bomb bounces toward the prime minister until a bodyguard blocks it with his briefcase and kicks it away before ushering the leader out of the area. At the same time, the security guard unfolds the briefcase into a protective shield, which is believed to be bulletproof.
Another angle on the incident shows security personnel as they wrestle the suspect to the ground after he allegedly threw “the suspicious object,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno described.
Spanish outlet Marca described the scene as a campaign stop at a fishing port in Western Japan, where the prime minister was standing with his back to the crowd until his security detail pointed out the explosive device.
Authorities, including uniformed and plainclothes officers, tackled a man wearing a white surgical mask as he held a second device, a long silver tube. From this angle, the explosion from the first alleged pipe bomb is heard off-screen.
Two possible bombs, the exploded device and another in the suspect’s possession, were confiscated at the scene of the crime along with a cigarette lighter and a fruit knife.
Police then investigated the home of 24-year-old suspect Ryuji Kimura, located more than 62 miles from the site of the attack. Investigators found metal tubes, tools, and possible gunpowder
One police officer was injured in the incident at the Saikazaki port in Wakayama Prefecture. The prime minister had planned to give a speech in support of a local candidate from his party.
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