PRAGUE—A man dressed in camouflage pulled out a replica gun in a crowd and fired seven plastic balls at the Czech President Friday. The President’s bodyguards, who stood by and didn’t react to the incident, have now come under nationwide criticism.
After the incident involving a plastic airsoft gun, the bodyguards did not act to pursue the man, despite a visibly disturbed President Vaclav Klaus, 71, who was later treated in a Prague hospital for minor injuries.
The man was arrested by police several minutes later, but was able to give a media interview and smoked a cigarette. He was reportedly also carrying pepper spray with him.
The incident prompted the President’s chief bodyguard, Jiri Sklenka, to resign on Saturday.
The incident happened during President Klaus’s visit to the opening of a new bridge in the Czech village of Chrastava.
His assailant, who was later identified as 26-year-old Pavel Vondrous, identified himself to media as a sympathizer of the communist party. He spend the night in detention, but was released the next day after being charged with disorderly conduct. He is facing a maximum sentence of two years in prison.
