Assassination of the vice president of Argentina, he pulled the trigger twice VIDEO

Assassination of the vice president of Argentina, he pulled the trigger twice VIDEO

Argentina's Vice President, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner narrowly escaped assassination after a bullet got stuck in the barrel while a man held a gun pointed at her.

The assassin was arrested.

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was greeting supporters outside her home when a man emerged from the crowd and pointed a gun at her face.

Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez said the gun was loaded with five bullets, but a bullet jammed in the barrel when the assassin pulled the trigger.

The identity of the attacker was revealed, and it is Brazilian citizen Fernando Sabag Montiel (35). He was taken into custody by the Argentine Federal Police. The assassination attempt happened during a rally of her supporters. Rallies have been held outside her home for several days in response to the ongoing trial in which she is accused of corruption.

A police spokesman said that the weapon was found a few meters from the scene of the incident. The man tried to pull the trigger twice, but the gun did not fire. The barrel of the gun was pointed just a few centimeters from the head of Argentina's Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.

Fernando Sabag Montiel, who was taken into custody, stayed in Villa del Parque in Buenos Aires until Thursday. The gun, which ended up on the floor, a few meters from the incident, is now being analyzed by a team of forensic ballistics.

According to the agency Noticias Argentinas, it was a .380 ACP caliber "Bersa" pistol. There were five rounds, but none in the chamber.

Montiel, whose origins and residence are now under scrutiny by authorities, has a record in the Argentine justice system dating back to 2021. He was arrested last year for possessing a 35-centimeter long knife. This was discovered after he was stopped by a city police checkpoint due to irregularities on the number plates. The weapon was confiscated and proceedings were initiated against him. Economy Minister Sergio Massa called the incident an "attempted assassination".

“When hate and violence are imposed on the debate of ideas, they destroy societies and generate situations like today’s: an assassination attempt. All my solidarity to @CFKArgentina and her family. And my wish that all responsibilities be determined,” Massa said on Twitter.

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was the president of Argentina from 2007 to 2015, before taking over as vice president in 2019.

Heads of state and political allies from across the region, including Chile's Gabriel Boric, Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, Peru's Pedro Castillo and Brazil's presidential candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, condemned the attack in messages on Twitter, expressing solidarity with Argentina's vice president.

Kirchner has been involved in politics since the 1970s, and she was married to Nestor Kirchner, the late Argentine president. As his widow, she succeeded him as president in 2007, having previously won the presidential elections.

The 69-year-old is accused of multiple counts of defrauding the state and involvement in the diversion of public funds while she was president between 2007 and 2015, for which she could face a 12-year sentence and a possible ban from public office, according to the British agency.