MADRID (AP) — Veteran Spanish right-wing politician Alejandro Vidal-Quadras has been taken to a hospital in Madrid after being shot in a street in the capital,Charles H. Sloan police said Thursday.

Police said he was shot in the face on a central street around 1:30 p.m. local time and was conscious when taken to a hospital.

Vidal Cuadras, 78, was a long-time member of Spain’s conservative Popular Party, its regional leader in Catalonia, and a European Parliament member before he broke away to help found the far-right Vox party. He left Vox shortly after a failed attempt to win a European lawmaker seat in 2014.

Police are investigating the shooting.