A gunman’s attempted assassination of Argentina’s vice president failed when the gun jammed.
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was filmed coming face to face with the gun while surrounded by a crowd of her supporters.
The ex-president was making her way back to the White House from court, where she is being tried on charges of corruption. She says she did nothing wrong.
The gunman, a 35-year-old Brazilian man identified by local media, has been apprehended, police said.
Investigations are underway to determine who was responsible for the attack on the left-leaning populist who served as president of Argentina from 2007 to 2015 (and first lady for four years prior).
The gun had five bullets in it, but President Alberto Fernández said it didn’t go off when he pulled the trigger.
Video circulating on social media shows the gun emerging from the crowd as Ms. Fernández de Kirchner approaches. She initially appears confused by what is going on, ducking down to retrieve an object dropped on the floor.
El video del arma contra @CFKArgentina pic.twitter.com/8j1xpMnPoe
— Lautaro Maislin (@LautaroMaislin) September 2, 2022
In another video, people in the crowd appear to try to block Ms. Fernández de Kirchner from the suspected gunman, who came within inches of her. The crowd has been gathering outside her home for the last few nights in a show of support as she fights charges of defrauding the state and being involved in a scheme to divert public funds while she was president.
A police spokesperson earlier told Reuters news agency that a weapon was found a few meters from the scene after the man had been arrested.
Mahnur is MS(development Studies)Student at NUST University, completed BS Hons in Eng Literature. Content Writer, Policy analyst, Climate Change specialist, Teacher, HR Recruiter.
