Shinzo Abe's suspected assassin to undergo psychiatric evaluation - media

FILE PHOTO: A picture of late former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was gunned down while campaigning for a parliamentary election, is seen at Headquarters of the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party in Tokyo, Japan July 12, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo

The suspected assassin of Japanese former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will undergo psychiatric evaluation until later this year, Japanese media reported on Saturday.

Tetsuya Yamagami, an unemployed 41-year-old, has been identified by police as the suspect who approached Abe at a campaign speech on a street corner on July 8 and opened fire with a handmade gun.

A court in Nara in western Japan, where the suspect lived and the shooting occurred, granted prosecutors' request that Yamagami be held for psychiatric examination, the Nikkei and other media reported.

FILE PHOTO: Tetsuya Yamagami, suspected of killing former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, is escorted by a police officer as he is taken to prosecutors, at Nara-nishi police station in Nara, western Japan, in this photo taken by Kyodo July 10, 2022. Mandatory credit Kyodo via REUTERS

Nara prosecutors could not be reached for comment outside business hours.

The evaluation will last until Nov. 29, the Nikkei said, and will determine whether or not Yamagami will be indicted for shooting.

(Reporting by Elaine Lies in Tokyo; Editing by William Mallard)