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An attempt to kill Argentina’s politically powerful Vice President Cristina Fernandez outside her home failed after a pistol caught fire, according to the president.
During Thursday night’s incident, the man who was seen wielding a weapon was quickly subdued by Ms. Fernandez’s security, officials said.
President Alberto Fernandez said the pistol did not fire when the man tried to fire.
“A man pulled the trigger with a gun to her head,” the president said on national radio after the incident.
He said the gun was loaded with five rounds but “did not fire even when the trigger was pulled”.
The vice president himself, a former leader of the country, appeared unscathed and the man was subdued within seconds as he stood among a group of her supporters.
Witness Gina Debbie, who was with the vice president at the time of the incident, told The Associated Press that she heard “the sound of the trigger being pulled.” She said she didn’t realize it was a handgun until security arrived at the man.
President Fernandez, who is not associated with the vice president, called it “the worst since our return to democracy” after the 1983 military dictatorship and urged political leaders and society at large to deny the attempted shooting.
The attack comes as the vice president faces trial for alleged corruption during his presidency from 2007-2015 — accusations she vehemently denies and led her supporters to surround her apartment in the upscale Recoleta district of the Argentine capital. Family.
Video broadcast on a local TV channel showed Ms Fernandez getting out of the car surrounded by supporters when a man was seen reaching out with what looked like a pistol.
The vice president dodged the gunman, and those around seemed shocked by what was happening.
Unverified video posted on social media showed the pistol almost touching Ms Fernandez’s face.
The alleged gunman has been identified as Brazilian citizen Fernando Andre Sabague-Montil, an official with Brazil’s security ministry said. He has no criminal record, the official said, adding that the weapon was a .32 caliber Bersa.
The president announced the holiday on Friday “so that the Argentine people can express themselves in peace and harmony, defending life, democracy and solidarity with our vice president”.
Supporters of the vice president have gathered in the streets around her home since last week, when a prosecutor called for a 12-year prison sentence for Ms. Fernandez and a life ban from public office in the corruption case.
Shortly after the incident, government officials were quick to condemn what they called an assassination attempt.
Economy Minister Sergio Massa said: “When hatred and violence are imposed on ideological debate, society is destroyed and what is seen today: assassination attempts.”
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