Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico’s health was improving on Saturday morning after he underwent a second surgery for injuries sustained when he was shot and killed in an assassination attempt on Wednesday, a deputy minister said.
“Several miracles happened,” Deputy Minister Robert Kalinac told reporters. Referring to Mr. Fico, he added, “He was conscious but seriously injured.”
Kalinac spoke in front of Roosevelt University Hospital in downtown Banská Bystrica, where Fico was admitted after being shot multiple times by a lone gunman.
Earlier Saturday, in another part of the country, the 71-year-old suspect in the shooting, whom authorities identified only as Juraj C., was before a judge who ordered him to remain in custody until he was taken into custody.
The shooting, which took place in the central Slovak town of Handlova, was the worst attack on a European leader in decades.
Mr. Fico was shot multiple times, but Kalinak explained in a television interview on Saturday that one of the wounds posed the greatest risk to Mr. Fico’s health.
Doctors on Friday removed infected tissue from the wound area during a second emergency surgery after Fico was attacked, Kalinac said.
Mr Kalinak said Mr Fico would not be able to be transferred to Bratislava, Slovakia’s capital and largest city, for at least several days because of the severity of his injuries.
Also on Saturday morning, in the western Slovak city of Pecinok, about 12 miles from Bratislava, Slovak and international reporters waited outside the courthouse while a SWAT team secured the surrounding area before taking the suspect away See the judge.
After a closed hearing, the judge ordered that the suspect remain detained until authorities charge him and bring him to trial.
“The reason for the detention is fear of possible escape and the continuation of criminal activities,” court spokesperson Katarina Kudjakova said.
