“A man pointed a gun at her head and pulled the trigger,” the president said in a national broadcast after the incident. He said the firearm was loaded with five bullets but “did not fire even though the trigger was pulled.” He called it “the most serious incident since we regained democracy” in 1983 and urged political leaders, and society at large, to disavow the incident. The vice president did not appear to be injured and the man was subdued within seconds as he stood among a crowd of her supporters. Argentina’s Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner greets supporters outside her home in Buenos Aires on Thursday night. (Tomas Cuesta/Getty Images) Supporters of the vice president have been gathering in the streets around her home since last week, when a prosecutor sought a 12-year prison sentence for Fernandez de Kirchner as well as a lifetime ban from holding public office as part of the case. regarding alleged corruption in public works during her 2007-2015 presidency. Fernandez de Kirchner has denied all charges. The president spoke shortly after video of the scene aired on local television channels showed Fernandez de Kirchner getting out of her vehicle surrounded by supporters outside her home when a man appeared to reach out with what looked like pistol. The vice president bowed as supporters surrounding the man appeared shocked at what was happening amid unrest in the Recoleta district of the Argentine capital. Police arrested a man who allegedly attempted to attack Fernandez de Kirchner. President Alberto Fernandez said the assassination attempt failed because the gun did not fire. (Tomas Cuesta/Getty Images)
Alleged gunman is Brazilian: reports
The alleged gunman was identified as Fernando Andre Sabag Montiel, a Brazilian national, said a security ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. He has no criminal record, the official said, adding that the weapon was a .32 caliber Bersa. Government officials were quick to describe the incident as an assassination attempt. Police are on guard near Fernandez de Kirchner’s home after she was threatened with a gun. (Agustin Marcarian/Reuters) “When hatred and violence are imposed on the discussion of ideas, societies are destroyed and create situations like the one we see today: an assassination attempt,” said Economy Minister Sergio Massa. Ministers in President Alberto Fernandez’s government issued a press release saying they “strongly condemn the attempted assassination” of the vice president. “What happened tonight is extremely serious and threatens democracy, institutions and the rule of law,” the statement said. Former president Mauricio Macri also rejected the attack. “This very serious event requires an immediate and deep investigation by justice and security forces,” Macri wrote on Twitter. Patricia Bullrich, chairwoman of the opposition party Republican Proposal, criticized the president, saying he was “playing with fire” because “instead of seriously investigating a serious incident, he blames the opposition and the press, setting a national holiday to mobilize activists.” Tensions have been simmering in the upscale Recoleta neighborhood since the weekend, when supporters of the vice president clashed with police in the streets around her apartment amid an effort by officers to clear the area. After the clashes, the heavy police presence around the vice president’s apartment was reduced. A police coroner looks on near de Kirchner’s home after she was attacked by an unknown assailant with a gun late Thursday. (Agustin Marcarian/Reuters)
Signing autographs
When Fernandez de Kirchner leaves her apartment every day around noon, she greets supporters and signs autographs before getting into her vehicle to go to the Senate. He repeats the same routine every afternoon. “We send our solidarity to the vice president in this attempt on her life,” Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro tweeted. Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, who is running in the country’s presidential election next month, also expressed solidarity with Fernandez de Kirchner, calling her “a victim of a fascist criminal who does not know how to respect differences and diversity . “
