Abe Shooter’s Homemade Guns Were All Lethal: Police Witness

Nara, Nov. 6 (Jiji Press)–Seven guns made by Tetsuya Yamagami, charged with the murder of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, were all lethal, a police witness said at Nara District Court on Thursday. The witness is a researcher at the Nara prefectural police department’s forensic laboratory who analyzed the homemade guns. During the sixth court hearing of Yamagami’s trial, videos of test firings conducted during the examination of the guns were played, with the 45-year-old defendant watching the monitor expressionlessly. According to the witness, while ordinary guns ignite gunpowder by striking the detonator with the hammer, Yamagami’s guns used electricity. The power of the homemade guns was calculated from bullet weight and velocity in the test firings, and the results “far exceeded” the levels required to injure or kill humans, the witness said. The witness also said that four of the seven guns were ready to fire, including one loaded with bullets. According to the indictment, Yamagami shot a homemade gun at Abe twice from close range while the former prime minister was giving a speech outside Yamato-Saidaiji Station of Kintetsu Railway Co. in the western city of Nara on July 8, 2022. Abe died from blood loss due to injuries, including one to his upper left arm. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]