Argentina’s vice president survived an assassination attempt late Thursday after a gunman’s weapon jammed as he tried to shoot her at shut vary exterior her dwelling, the nation’s chief mentioned.
Vice President Cristina Fernández was unhurt within the incident, which has rocked the South American nation already racked by turmoil because of spiraling inflation and her trial on corruption prices she denies.
The man tried to kill the vice president as she was surrounded by giant crowds of supporters exterior her Buenos Aires residence round 9 p.m. native time (8 p.m. ET) Thursday, in accordance with a press release by President Alberto Fernández.
Video footage of the incident verified by NBC News exhibits the vice president greeting boisterous supporters close to a white automobile when a hand seems from the gang holding a black pistol. The hand seems to drag the set off inches from her face and a click on is heard, however no shot rings out. Members of the gang then seem to show and overpower the gunman.
The gun was loaded with 5 bullets, in accordance with the president. “A man pointed a firearm at her head and pulled the trigger,” he mentioned in a nationwide broadcast following the incident.
The alleged assailant, whom authorities recognized as Brazilian nationwide Fernando Sabag Montiel, was rapidly arrested by police and the weapon was seized.
It was not instantly clear what his motive may need been. NBC News has reached out to Argentinian police and the ministry of safety for additional particulars.
The president mentioned it was “the most serious incident since we recovered democracy,” referring to the top of the nation’s army junta in 1983.
“We can disagree, we can have deep disagreements, but in a democratic society, hate speech cannot take place because it breeds violence and there is no possibility of violence co-existing with democracy,” he said. “Our vice president has been attacked and social peace has been disturbed.”
Alberto Fernández, who is not related to the vice president, called for an immediate investigation into the incident and announced Friday would be a national holiday in solidarity with her.
Other officials also decried the attack, accusing the opposition of promoting violence.
“When hate and violence prevail over the talk of concepts, they destroy societies and generate conditions like right now’s: an assassination try,” Economy Minister Sergio Massa said on Twitter.
The vice president previously served two terms as the country’s president from 2007 to 2015. She is a politically powerful and polarizing figure in Argentina.
She faces charges of corruption during her time as president, charges she has consistently and vehemently denied.
Supporters of the vice president have been gathering in the streets surrounding her home in the upscale Recoleta neighborhood of Argentina’s capital since last week, when a prosecutor called for a 12-year sentence for her, as well as a lifelong prohibition on holding public office.
Cristina Fernández became Argentina’s first elected female president in 2007. She was first lady prior to that when her husband, Néstor Kirchner, led the country in the early 2000s. She belongs to the left-wing Justicialist Party.
Former President Mauricio Macri, a conservative who succeeded her, also condemned the attack. “This very serious event demands an immediate and profound clarification by the judiciary and security forces,” he wrote on Twitter.
Patricia Bullrich, a former minister beneath Macri and the chief of the opposition Republican Proposal social gathering, criticized the president’s response to the assault.
