Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico shot

The populist prime minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, was shot and taken to a hospital Wednesday, according to local media reports.

Lubos Blaha, vice-chairman of the central European country’s parliament, told Slovak news agency TASR that Fico was shot and injured. A TASR reporter said that several shots were fired in the town of Handlova, about 110 miles northeast of the capital Bratislava.

Fico was greeting members of the public after a government meeting, the news agency reported.

NBC News has not independently verified the reports.

Fico was elected in October last year as leader of the leftist Smer party, meaning direction, standing on a pro-Russian and anti-American populist platform.