Search icon

News

02nd Sep 2022

Man points gun at Argentina’s Vice President and pulls trigger, but gun jams

Alan Loughnane

Argentina president

The moment was caught by television cameras.

Argentina’s vice-president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has narrowly avoided assassination after a gunman’s weapon jammed as he aimed at her.

She was greeting supporters outside her home when a man emerged from the crowd and pointed a handgun in her face.

Fernández de Kirchner is at the centre of a corruption trial and was returning from court. She denies the charges that are levelled against her.

Police said the gunman, who local media identified as a 35-year-old Brazilian man, has been taken into custody.

President Alberto Fernández said that de Kirchner survived only because the gun – which was loaded with five bullets – did not fire.

“Cristina remains alive because, for a reason not yet technically confirmed, the gun, which contained five bullets, did not fire,” Fernández said.

He added: “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.”

The moment of the attempted shooting was captured by television cameras outside Fernández de Kirchner’s home, where supporters had been gathered for days protesting against the corruption charges she’s facing.

Fernandez de Kirchner was reportedly unharmed in the incident.

LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Conor Sketches | Tiger Woods loves Ger Loughnane and cosplaying as Charles LeClerc