Police say homemade firearms were seized during a raid on the home of the suspect who shot Abe

TOKYO – Police on Friday raided the home of a man suspected of using a homemade gun to assassination of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe and said they had seized several weapons that appeared to be homemade weapons.

The discovery follows the arrest of the suspect – identified by officials as Tetsuya Yamagishi, 41 – in the western Japanese city of Nara, where Abe was giving an outdoor campaign speech on the eve of the election. congressional elections this weekend.

Local media have captured videos and photos of the bulky weapon that police believe was used to kill Abe. They confirmed that the gun consisted of two metal barrels attached to a wooden board and was more than a foot long.

“We’re doing forensic work, but it obviously looks homemade,” Nara police chief said at a news conference.

Police said several weapons were also found at Yamagishi’s residence and resembled the gun believed to have been used to shoot Abe. They added that it was unclear whether the suspect had the appropriate license for the weapon.

Abe was shot dead, Japan’s longest-serving leader before Resigned in 2020 due to health problemsstunned a country where Gun violence is extremely rare.

Japan, a country of about 125.8 million people, has one of the strictest gun laws in the world. There are only 10 mass shootings in 2021, with one person killed and four injured, according to the country National Police Agency. The majority of shootings each year are linked to Japan’s organized crime, the agency added.

Witnesses at the scene on Friday described a “loud bang and then smoke” caused by the first shot, Reuters reported. In dramatic videos, Abe can be seen raising his fist just before the gunshots are heard. He fell to the ground, blood staining his white shirt and the people around him rushed to help him.

“The first shot, no one knew what was going on, but after the second shot, it looks like the special police took care of it,” the suspect, a witness said.

Abe was taken to Nara Medical University Hospital after suffering cardiac and pulmonary arrest. Doctors said he had two gunshot wounds and had no vital signs when he arrived less than an hour after the shooting. He was pronounced dead at 4:03 a.m. ET.

Yamagishi was arrested at the scene and is being investigated for murder, police said. They said he confessed to the attack and added that he told them he held a grudge against a group he believed had ties to Abe.

Arata Yamamoto reports from Tokyo, and Erik Ortiz from New York.