BERLIN: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Friday she was horrified by the attack on Japan’s former premier Shinzo Abe after he was shot at a campaign event.

“I’m shocked by the news that Shinzo Abe was shot,” she tweeted from a G20 meeting in Bali. “My thoughts are with him and his family.”

Former German chancellor Angela Merkel, who had frequent contact with Abe for several years while both were still in office, said she was “dismayed” at the news of the “terrible attack on my long-time colleague”.

Former Japan PM Abe dead after shooting: local media

“Our cooperation was close and based on trust, I always enjoyed working with him,” she said in a statement released before Japanese media reported Abe’s death from his wounds.

“My thoughts in these hours are with him, his wife and his whole family,” Merkel said.