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Assassination attempt on German chancellor foiled

August 26, 2016 13:02 IST

An assassination attempt on German Chancellor Angela Merkel has reportedly been foiled in Prague.

Czech police arrested a man after he attempted to drive his black Mercedes into the motorcade of visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Prague.

The police said the suspect was in custody and that Merkel was not in danger.

Local reports claim that officers found a baton, a canister of tear gas, cement blocks, and handcuffs in the man’s black 4x4 Mercedes.

The chancellor was in Prague to meet Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka.

She was travelling from the airport to the city when the suspicious vehicle appeared on the outskirts of the city,

The Mercedes driver is reported to have refused to obey orders coming from police cars accompanying the German chancellor.

He is alleged to have carried on trying to enter the motorcade and cut off a police vehicle that was trying to stop him.

The driver reportedly only stopped and got out of the vehicle after police warned him that they were going to shoot.

Merkel is meeting 15 other heads of state this week to create a new agenda after Britain’s decision to leave the European Union.

A series of demonstrations have greeted her in Prague, while demonstrators held posters saying “Merkel is killing Europe.”

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