Handmade Gun Fired by Abe "Fires 6 Bullets with One Shot, Fixed by Tying Two Metal Cans"

Additional Homemade Guns Found at Suspect's House
Two Metal Containers Connected, One Fired per Shot

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

The firearm used to shoot former Japanese Prime Minister Abe was a homemade gun crafted by the suspect himself, designed to fire six bullets simultaneously. Police discovered several additional homemade guns at the suspect's residence.

According to the Yomiuri Shimbun on the 10th, Tetsuya Yamakami (41), a former Maritime Self-Defense Force member who was arrested at the scene after shooting former Prime Minister Abe during an election campaign in Nara Prefecture on the 8th, stated that the gun used in the crime was "a homemade gun structured to fire six bullets at once."

Yomiuri reported that the gun has a "structure similar to a shotgun," and several similar homemade guns were additionally found at his home. Nara Prefecture police believe the suspect increased the lethality by producing multiple prototypes.

Yamakami fired at former Prime Minister Abe around 11:30 a.m. on the 8th while Abe was giving a speech in Nara Prefecture and was arrested on the spot. According to investigation officials, the homemade gun seized at the scene measures approximately 40 cm in length and about 20 cm in height.

In his police statement, Yamakami explained, "Two metal tubes were bound together and fixed with a wooden board and adhesive tape, with capsules capable of holding six bullets inserted into the tubes." The mechanism allows six bullets to be fired simultaneously from one tube.

According to footage taken at the scene, Yamakami fired from about 6 to 7 meters behind former Prime Minister Abe. Nara Prefecture police found multiple holes at the scene believed to be bullet marks from the shotgun pellets.

Nara Prefecture police also searched the suspect’s home in the city and found several homemade guns with similar structures to the one used in the incident. Among them was a large homemade gun consisting of nine connected metal tubes. Yamakami stated, "I purchased gunpowder online," and added, "At first, I tried to make a bomb, but it didn’t work well, so I decided to make a gun instead."