Man arrested after gun jam thwarts 'assassination attempt' of Argentina's vice president | ITV News

A man has been arrested after aiming a handgun at point-blank range at Argentina's Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in an apparent assassination attempt.

Ms Fernández de Kirchner only survived because the handgun misfired, the country's president said.

The man was quickly overpowered by her security officers in the incident which took place outside her home on Thursday night, officials said.

President Alberto Fernández, who is not related to the vice president, a former president herself, said the pistol did not discharge when the man tried to fire it.

“A man pointed a firearm at her head and pulled the trigger,” the president said in a national broadcast following the incident.