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Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot at a campaign event Friday and was in critical condition, Japanese officials said, shocking a nation where firearms laws are among the world’s strictest and gun violence is rare, The Washington Post reported.

Party officials cited in Japanese media said Abe was unconscious, and public broadcaster NHK reported that the 67-year-old was showing no vital signs. He had been giving a speech in Nara, near Osaka, ahead of elections for Japan’s upper house of parliament on Sunday.

At least two shots were heard around 11:30 a.m. Friday, hitting Abe in his chest and neck. Police arrested a suspect, a man from Nara in his 40s named Tetsuya Yamagami, and seized a gun. The weapon appeared to be homemade, police sources told local media. Yamagami was a member of the Japan Maritime Self Defense Forces for three years, defense officials told Japanese media.

Footage of the event showed Abe giving a speech, then a plume of smoke forming behind him as he collapsed. Officials ran to apprehend the shooter, who appeared to be positioned behind Abe. Videos showed a chaotic scene with Abe, unmoving, lying on the ground as attendees yelled for an ambulance.

Abe was admitted to the Nara Medical University Hospital. Local media, citing police sources, described his status as a “cardiopulmonary arrest,” a term often used in Japan before death is officially confirmed.