A man has been detained following what appears to have been an attempt at assassination of Argentina Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner with a firearm at point blank range.
The firearm accidentally discharged, the president of the nation claimed, saving Ms. Fernández de Kirchner’s life.
In the incident that happened outside of her home on Thursday night, the man was promptly subdued by her security guards, according to officials.
“A man pointed a firearm at her head and pulled the trigger,” the president said in a national broadcast following the incident.
He claimed that despite having five bullets loaded, the gun “didn’t fire even though the trigger was pressed.”
The man was quickly subdued as he stood among Ms. Fernández de Kirchner’s supporters, and she did not appear to have been hurt.
The vice president was attacked as she is being tried for suspected corruption committed between 2007 and 2015; she firmly denies the allegations, which has prompted her fans to encircle her residence in the affluent Recoleta neighborhood of Buenos Aires.
Ms. Fernández de Kirchner was seen exiting her car while surrounded by fans in a video that was aired on local news networks, when a man is seen reaching out with what appears to be a firearm. The apparent gunman’s surroundings seem to be in shock as the vice president ducks.
Following the incident, the vice president’s supporters swiftly accused the opposition of spewing hate speech and encouraging violence. Several prominent authorities have said recently that opposition leaders were searching for a fatality.
In support of Ms. Fernández de Kirchner, former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva, a contender Brazil’s presidential election later this month, described her as “a victim of a fascist criminal who doesn’t know how to accept differences and diversity.”
