Jiri Sklenka, the head of security detail for Czech President Vaclav Klaus, has resigned after his subordinates failed to prevent a mock ‘assassination’ attempt on the president, Ceske Noviny publication reported.
A 26-year-old man, clad in camouflage fatigues, on Friday forced his way through a crowd of people greeting Klaus at a bridge-opening ceremony in Chrastava, north Bohemia, and shot at the president with a replica ‘airsoft’ gun.
Klaus was taken to a hospital and received treatment for minor bruising. He later criticized his bodyguards for failure to handle the situation appropriately.
"Although I was not present at the place [of the incident] and I personally did not command the measures in Chrastava, after seeing the incident...I feel personal responsibility for the conduct of my subordinates, irrespective of whether they could prevent the incident or could not," Ceske Noviny cited Sklenka as saying on Saturday.
Sklenka told journalists that he had decided to step down already on Friday after seeing the footage of the incident broadcast by a television station.
The attacker, identified as Czech citizen Pavel Ondrous, was arrested and charged with hooliganism. He is facing up to two years in prison.
Ondrous told reporters he had carried out the attack to attract the government’s attention to the concerns of ordinary people.
Meanwhile, the performance of the president protection detail is been probed by the General Inspection of Security Forces (GIBS), Ceske Noviny said.
