A man has been arrested after attempting to shoot Argentine Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner near her home in Buenos Aires on Thursday.
Footage of the incident showed the man pointing a handgun in the face of Ms Kirchner from close range.
A scream is heard as the gun appears to jam, before the man is detained by the crowd.
“Cristina remains alive, because for a reason that has not yet been technically confirmed, the gun which contained five bullets did not fire despite the trigger having been pulled,” Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez said in an address to the nation.
“This is the most serious event that has happened since we restored democracy” in 1983, Mr Fernandez said.
“I saw this arm come up over my shoulder behind me with a gun, and with people around me, he was subdued,” a supporter of Ms Kirchner, who did not give his name, told AFP.
Security Minister Anibal Fernandez said a suspect had been arrested on Thursday night but investigators still needed to examine the crime scene and circumstances surrounding the incident.
Local media reported that the suspect was a 35-year-old Brazilian citizen.
President Fernandez declared Friday a public holiday to allow people to “express themselves in defence of the life of democracy and in solidarity with our vice president”.
Ms Kirchner was the country’s leader from 2007 to 2015 but is now facing corruption charges.