Slovakia’s populist prime minister and longtime leader, Robert Fico, was in critical condition after being shot multiple times at close range by an unidentified gunman, officials in the central European country said Wednesday.

The suspected gunman was apprehended after the shooting of the 59-year-old premier in the city of Handlova, east of the Slovak capital.

A post on Fico’s Facebook page said he had been flown by helicopter to a hospital in a nearby city for urgent treatment. “The next few hours will be decisive,” the Facebook post said. A spokeswoman for European Council President Charles Michel said Brussels was informed that Fico was alive.

At least five shots were fired, according to footage from the scene carried by local media, when Fico approached a group of people behind a police barricade. Video showed Fico doubled over and struggling to walk while being led to a black car in his motorcade.

Police could be seen in another video detaining a man spread across the sidewalk while agitated onlookers shouted in confusion. Slovak authorities gave no information on the identity or motivation of the attacker, according to Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar.