Shinzo Abe: former Japan prime minister confirmed dead after being shot in city of Nara – latest updates

Police in Nara, the Japanese city where former prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead earlier today, have said at a media briefing that they have confiscated several similar homemade weapons to those used in the attack from a search at the suspect’s house.

They told the media that a 90-person taskforce has been established to investigate the crime, and that Shinzo Abe was confirmed dead at 5.03pm local time.

The suspect, unemployed 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, was apprehended at the site, and the police stated that he has admitted to shooting the former prime minister with a homemade weapon.

The suspect told police that he believed Abe was part of a “specific organisation” which Yamagami had a grudge against. The police would not reveal the name of the organisation.

The police claim to have confiscated several similar homemade weapons to that used in the attack from a search at the suspect’s house. They described the weapon as being 40cm long and 20cm high, but also implied they were treating it with caution due to “the possibility of a detonation”.

Police would not say whether any bullets were found at the scene.

The police say they believe the suspect travelled to the event by train, but they would not specify how long Yamagami had waited for Abe. They also said their investigation will include the level of security at the event.

The Nara police stalled several questions by saying that because of the implications to ongoing investigations, they were unwilling to disclose further information.