Obama ‘shocked and saddened’ by Abe assassination

Former President Obama said on Friday that he is “shocked and saddened” by the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Abe, the longest-serving prime minister in Japan’s history, was shot and killed while campaigning for his political party in the city of Kyoto. Police have arrested a suspect.

“I am shocked and saddened by the assassination of my friend and longtime partner Shinzo Abe in Japan,” Obama wrote in a statement. “Former Prime Minister Abe was devoted to both the country he served and the extraordinary alliance between the United States and Japan.”

“I will always remember the work we did to strengthen our alliance, the moving experience of traveling to Hiroshima and Pearl Harbor together, and the grace he and his wife Akie Abe showed to me and Michelle,” wrote Obama of Abe, adding: “Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to the people of Japan who are very much in our thoughts at this painful moment.”