Ex-Japan PM Shinzo Abe Killed: A Look At Political Assassinations That Sent Shockwaves Across The World

As the world mourns Shinzo Abe's death, let's take a look at political assassinations that sent shockwaves across the globe.

Japan PM Shinzo Abe was shot during an election campaign today. (Getty Image)

The world was shocked on Friday morning after the former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe died after he was shot while he was addressing an election rally in the city of Nara. The attack took place near the Yamatosaidaiji Station in Nara city while the 67-year-old leader was making a speech for a Liberal Democratic Party candidate's election campaign for upcoming polls.

The police said that Abe was shot twice, with the second shot hitting him in the back, causing him to fall to the ground. A 41-year-old male suspect has been arrested for attacking Abe.

As the world mourns Shinzo Abe's death, let's take a look at political assassinations that sent shockwaves across the globe.

Mahatma Gandhi, 1948

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, also known as Mahatma Gandhi or Bapu, was brutally shot by a Hindu extremist Nathuram Godse on January 30, 1948 - six months after India got independence from over 200 years of British rule.

Gandhi was shot dead at a point-blank range by Godse at the Birla House (now known as Gandhi Smriti) in New Delhi where the former had went to attend a prayer meet. According to report, he was shot thrice in chest and head.

Gandhi was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule. Godse was a member of Hindu Mahasabha. A trial court sentenced him to death and the fanatic was executed in November 1949.

Abraham Lincoln, 1865

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was assassinated by well-known stage actor John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865. He was killed while attending the play Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.

Lincoln was shot in head by actor John Wilkes Booth at around 10 pm when he entered the presidential box at Ford's Theatre and fired at the president. According to reports, Booth was outraged by the abolition of slavery in the United States.

The assassination was part of an attempt to revive the Confederate. After killing the president, Booth managed to escape from the theatre but was later tracked down in northern Virginia. He was shot by a Union Army soldier Boston Corbett shot. Booth died after few hours.

John F Kennedy, 1963

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, often referred to by his initials as JFK or by the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination near the end of his third year in office. Kennedy was the youngest person to assume the presidency by election.

He was assassinated on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was in the vehicle with his wife Jacqueline, Texas Governor John Connally, and Connally's wife Nellie when he was fatally shot by Lee Harvey Oswald, a former US Marine, from the sixth floor of a school.

Indira Gandhi, 1984

Former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi died on October 31, 1984 after she was shot dead by two of her own bodyguards - Sawant Singh and Beant Singh. She was killed at her residence in Safdarjung Road, New Delhi. She was shot a total of 33 times.

Indira Gandhi was assassination on the backdrop of Operation Bluestar when she had sent the Army inside Golden Temple to flush out Khalistani terrorists.

While Beant Singh was killed by the police shortly after the attack, Sawant Singh and another conspirator Kehar Singh were sentenced to death.

Rajiv Gandhi, 1991

Indira Gandhi's son and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was killed on 21 May 1991 by a suicide bomber while he was campaigning for elections in Tamil Nadu's Sriperumbudur. At least 14 others, in addition to Rajiv Gandhi, were killed in the attack.

A woman, who Rajiv asked the policewoman to not worry about, triggered a bomb she was carrying, killing Rajiv, herself, and others. The killer was a member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by LTTE, an armed Tamil group in Sri Lanka that was waging a war against the island nation's government. The LTTE turned against Rajiv after he sent the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to Sri Lanka. 

Benazir Bhutto, 2007

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on December 27, 2007 by a 15-year-old suicide bomber in Rawalpindi. Benazir was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and from 1993 to 1996. She was the first woman to head a democratic government in a Muslim majority country.

Shots were fired at her after a political rally at Liaqat National Bagh, and a suicide bomb was detonated immediately following the shooting. She was declared dead at Rawalpindi General Hospital. Twenty-three other people were killed by the bombing.