The chief bodyguard of the Czech president, Václav Klaus, has resigned
following an incident on Friday in which a man was able to attack the head
of state from extremely close range with a pellet-firing plastic gun.
Explaining his decision to quit, Jiří Sklenka said that while he had not
been present during the attack, which occurred in the north Bohemian town
of Chrastava, he felt responsible for the actions of his subordinates. Mr.
Klaus’s security detail were widely criticised for the slow and
ineffective manner in which they reacted to the incident, with the
president himself describing their response as an all-round failure. His
attacker, 26-year-old Pavel Vondrouš, has been charged with disorderly
conduct.