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Argentina’s vice chairman survived an assassination try late on Thursday after a gunman’s weapon jammed as he tried to shoot him at shut vary exterior his residence, the nation’s chief stated.

Vice President Cristina Fernández was unhurt within the incident, which has shaken the South American nation which has been rocked by unrest over rising inflation and her trial on corruption expenses she denies.

The person tried to kill the vice chairman as he was surrounded by a crowd of supporters exterior his residence in Buenos Aires round 9 p.m. native time (8 p.m. ET) Thursday, in line with an announcement by President Alberto Fernández.

Video footage of the incident verified by NBC Information confirmed the vice chairman greeting supporters who have been rowdy close to a white automobile as fingers from the group got here up with black pistols. His hand appeared to drag the set off inches from his face and a click on was heard, however no shot was fired. Members of the group then appeared to show and overpower the gunman.

The gun was loaded with 5 bullets, in line with the president. “A person pointed a firearm at his head and pulled the set off,” he stated in a nationwide broadcast after the incident.

The suspected attacker, who authorities recognized as Brazilian nationwide Fernando Sabag Montiel, was rapidly arrested by police and his weapon confiscated.

It isn’t clear what his motive is. NBC Information has reached out to Argentina’s police and safety ministry for additional particulars.

The president stated it was “probably the most severe occasion since we recovered democracy,” referring to the top of the nation’s navy junta in 1983.

“We are able to disagree, we are able to have deep disagreements, however in a democratic society, hate speech can not occur as a result of it breeds violence and there’s no risk of violence co-existing with democracy,” he stated. “Our vice chairman has been attacked. and social peace has been disturbed.”

Alberto Fernández, who shouldn’t be associated to the vice chairman, known as for a direct investigation into the incident and introduced Friday could be a nationwide vacation in solidarity with him.

Different officers additionally condemned the assault, accusing the opposition of selling violence.

“When hate and violence prevail within the debate of concepts, they destroy society and produce a scenario like at the moment: tried homicide,” Financial system Minister Sergio Massa stated on Twitter.

The earlier vice chairman served two phrases because the nation’s president from 2007 to 2015. He’s a politically highly effective and polarizing determine in Argentina.

He confronted accusations of corruption throughout his presidency, accusations that he has repeatedly denied.

Supporters of the vice chairman have gathered within the streets round his residence within the upscale Recoleta neighborhood of the Argentine capital since final week, when prosecutors known as for a 12-year sentence for him, in addition to a lifetime ban from holding public workplace.

Cristina Fernández turned Argentina’s first elected feminine president in 2007. She was the primary girl earlier than her husband, Néstor Kirchner, led the nation within the early 2000s. She belongs to the left-wing Justicialist Social gathering.

Former President Mauricio Macri, a conservative who succeeded him, additionally condemned the assault. “This very severe occasion calls for rapid and deep clarification by the judiciary and safety forces,” he wrote on Twitter.

Patricia Bullrich, a former minister beneath Macri and chief of the opposition Republican Proposal Social gathering, criticized the president’s response to the assault.