BBC:
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is fighting for his life in hospital after being shot in a small town north-east of Bratislava.
On Wednesday evening Defence Minister Robert Kalinak said Mr Fico had been in surgery for over three hours and that the situation was “bad”.
Slovak politicians including the president have called the shooting an “attack on democracy”.
The alleged assailant was detained at the scene but has not yet been formally identified by the authorities.
Earlier on Wednesday evening Defence Minister Robert Kalinak said Mr Fico had been in surgery for over three hours and that the situation was “bad”.
The attack happened at about 14:30 (12:30 GMT) in Handlova, about 180km (112 miles) from the capital Bratislava, as Mr Fico greeted people in front of a cultural community centre where a government meeting had been held.
Footage showed a man raising a gun and firing five times at the prime minister before being subdued by bodyguards while other members of Mr Fico’s security detail took the prime minister into his car.
He was airlifted by helicopter to a nearby hospital before being flown to another hospital in Banska Bystrica, east of Handlova.
Later on Wednesday Slovakia’s Deputy Prime Minister Tomas Taraba told the BBC’s Newshour programme he believed Mr Fico’s procedure in hospital had gone well.
“I guess in the end he will survive,” Mr Taraba said, adding: “He’s not in a life threatening situation at this moment.”
