Argentina’s Vice president narrowly avoided assassination after a gunman’s weapon aimed at her.
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was greeting supporters outside her home when a man emerged from the crowd and pointed a handgun in her face.
President Alberto Fernandez said the gun was loaded with five bullets but failed to fire when triggered.
Police said the gunman, who local media identified as a 35-year-old Brazilian man, has been taken into custody. They are attempting to establish a motive for the attack.
Addressing the nation late on Thursday night, Mr Fernandez said: “Cristina remains alive because, for a reason not yet technically confirmed, the gun, which contained five bullets, but did not fire”.
He went on to condemn the attacker and said the attempt on Ms de Kirchner’s life was one of the “most serious” incidents since the country returned to democracy in 1983.
“We can disagree, we can have deep disagreements, but hate speech cannot take place because it breeds violence and there is no chance of violence coexisting with democracy,” Mr Fernandez said.
In another video posted on social media, people in the crowd appear to try to block Ms de Kirchner from the suspected gunman.
Argentina’s economy minister, Sergio Massa, called the attempted shooting an “attempted assassination”.
“When hate and violence prevail over debate, societies are destroyed and situations like these arise: attempted assassination,” he said in a tweet.
A police spokesperson earlier told Reuters news agency that a weapon was found a few metres from the scene after the man had been arrested.
In recent days, hundreds of protesters have gathered in support outside the 69-year-old’s home in the capital while the trial is under way.
Ms de Kirchner is accused of defrauding the state and of fraudulently awarding public works contracts in her stronghold in Patagonia while she was president between 2007 and 2015.
Ms Kirchner has faced numerous other corruption trials following her time as president. The verdict of this trial is expected to take some months.
BBC