video transcript

The Czech Republic president was attacked by a man wielding a pellet gun on Friday (September 28) during a routine visit to a village. President Vaclav Klaus was in a local area for the opening of a new bridge. But as he met the crowd, a man opened fire with an airsoft gun - hitting the president on the arm. While he escaped uninjured, the local mayor said the president was less than impressed with his security team. SOUNDBITE: CHRASTAVA MAYOR MICHAEL CANOV SAYING (Czech): "I heard the president say to his bodyguards, 'You didn't react very well' or something like that." The attacker walked away from the scene before being detained by police. SOUNDBITE: MAN WHO ATTACKED PRESIDENT, PAVEL ONDROUS, SAYING (Czech): "I think it's an adequate expression of my feelings, even though someone could call it extreme. I think it is extreme when the government forces a third of the nation into hunger." Despite the attack, the 71-year-old president appeared defiant. SOUNDBITE: PRESIDENT VACLAV KLAUS SAYING (Czech): "I would have hit him back, but there wasn't a chance." Klaus finishes his second and final term as president in March.