Argentina Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is unharmed after a gunman tried to shoot her down, almost point blank, on Thursday.
The incident ocurred outside of Fernández de Kirchner’s home. She was returning from court, where she faces corruption allegations, and she denies all charges.
The gunman slipped through a mob of the vice president’s supporters and attempted to shoot Fernández de Kirchner in the face. The gun was loaded with five bullets but failed to fire when it was triggered.
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“Cristina is still alive because — for some reason, we can’t technically confirm at this moment — the weapon, which was armed with five bullets, did not shoot although the trigger was pulled,” said Argentina President Alberto Fernández in a televised address on Thursday night.
The police are trying to establish a motive for the attack. The gunman, meanwhile, has been identified as a 35-year-old Brazilian Fernando Andre Sabag Montiel, according to Argentina’s official news agency, Télam. He was taken into custody almost immediately after the attempt.
Fernández de Kirchner, a left-leaning populist, was Argentina’s president from 2007 to 2015. Before that, she was the country’s first lady. She is currently accused of corruption during her time as the country’s president. A federal prosecutor in August called for Fernández de Kirchner to serve a 12-year sentence but the court is yet to rule on the request.
President Fernández called the assassination attempt an attack on democracy. “We must eradicate hate and violence from our media and political discourse,” he said. He declared Friday a national holiday for the country in support of Fernández de Kirchner.
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