Angela Merkel Assassination Attempt Thwarted In Prague Amid Protests Over German Chancellor's Refugee Quotas

German Chancellor Angela Merkel reportedly survived what European press are calling an assassination attempt Thursday afternoon as she was visiting the Czech Republic. Merkel was leaving the airport in Prague when a man with weapons "attempted to join the motorcade" in a Mercedes and began to "run down police" while doing so, the Sun reported.

"He is suspected of attempting to cause a crime — specifically, an attempt to use violence against an official," Josef Bocan, a spokesman for the Czech police, told Express. "He tried to join the procession at all costs, cutting off a police vehicle that was trying to stop him. He only stopped and got out of the vehicle after police warned him that they were going to shoot."

The man, who has not been identified in the press, was arrested at the scene. When authorities searched the suspect's car, they discovered teargas, handcuffs and cobblestones, according to De Standaard.

"Thanks to the professional actions of officers, Angela Merkel's life was not in danger," Bocan added.

The chancellor was in Prague for the first time in four years this week to sit down with Bohuslav Sobotka, the prime minister of the Czech Republic, and talk about what's going to happen with the European Union now that Britain has voted to leave, Radio Praha reported. But many Czech disagree with her response to the ongoing refugee crisis, which last year was to allow more than 1 million people into Germany and promote an unpopular quota system for other European nations.

Deutsche Welle reported that hundreds of activists came out Thursday to protest Merkel's Prague visit. They picketed and wore shirts that read "Angela = death to Europe," Blesk reported.

After meeting with Merkel, Sobotka told reporters his stance on refugee quotas had not changed. "We cannot endorse a system that calls for mandatory quotas to distribute refugees," Sobotka said at a joint news conference.