Shinzo Abe was a friend of Qatar, Amir Tamim said on Friday.

Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has condemned the killing of former Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in a statement on Friday.

The Qatari leader said he was “saddened by the news of the assassination of our friend Shinzo Abe,” describing him as a “a loyal friend of the State of Qatar and a supporter of the close relations between our two countries.

“As we strongly condemn this heinous crime, we express our deepest condolences to his family and the friendly Japanese people,” Sheikh Tamim said on Twitter on Friday.

The former Japanese PM was shot dead while on a campaign trail in the city of Nara on Friday, just days ahead of an Upper House election.

A video that emerged online showed the 67-year-old delivering a speech while campaigning outdoors when two shots were fired. Abe, Japan’s longest serving PM, immediately collapsed while clutching his chest.

A mere seconds later, the video shows security pouncing on the culprit who was tackled to the ground and arrested on the scene.

An image that surfaced online appeared to show blood on the chest of the PM, who had collapsed onto the street.

Abe was transferred to hospital by helicopter shortly after where doctors later pronounced him dead.

The shooting has shocked the entire nation, which has strict laws against owning firearms. The perpetrator, believed to be a former member of the Japanese military, allegedly used a “handmade” gun, according to reports and footage of the incident.

Abe served as Japan’s prime minister from September 2006 to September 2007, before returning to the position once more from December 2012 to September 2020.