Argentina’s Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has survived an assassination attempt.

An assailant pointed a gun at her Thursday at point-blank range, but it failed to fire.

President Alberto Fernandez said in a national televised address that “A man pointed a firearm at her head and pulled the trigger.”

Video of the failed shooting shows the gun nearly touching Cristina Fernandez’s face.

The incident happened as the vice president was surrounded by supporters as she returned home after a day in court, where she is facing corruption allegations stemming from the time when she served as Argentina’s president from 2007-15. She has denied all charges.

President Fernandez said the assassination attempt was “the most serious incident since we recovered democracy” in 1983.

“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,” he said.

Authorities have arrested the gunman but have not released his identity. (VOA)

•Argentine Vice President Cristina Fernández delivers a speech in front of her home in Buenos Aires on Aug. 27, 2022.