Gunmen storm Ecuador television studio live on air

Gunshots rang out on live TV in violence-torn Ecuador as armed men burst into a studio shortly after gangsters vowed a “war” against the President. See the video.

Gunshots rang out on live TV in violence-torn Ecuador as armed men burst into a studio shortly after gangsters vowed a “war” against the president’s plans to reclaim control from “narcoterrorists.”

Attackers carrying rifles and grenades stormed the studio of TC television — a state-owned network — in the port city of Guayaquil as a woman was heard amid gunshots pleading: “Don’t shoot, please don’t shoot.”

The intruders forced terrified crew onto the ground, and a person could be heard screaming in apparent pain as the studio lights went off but the live broadcast continued for 15 minutes before the live feed was cut off.

“Please, they came in to kill us. God don’t let this happen. The criminals are on air,” a TC employee told AFP in a WhatsApp message.

A group of armed men broke into a live television studio in Ecuador and threatened staff, footage shows. Picture: TC

BREAKING:

The Government of Ecuador has declared “A State of Internal Armed Conflict”

Criminal gangs have taken up arms against the state and are storming universities, TV studios and other places.

Videos circulate of gangsters executing soldiers

🇪🇨 pic.twitter.com/8AHwZYPycY

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) January 9, 2024

The hooded men were seen leaving the TC studios, with police seen entering the set about 30 minutes after the gunmen first appeared.

The country’s national police force said in an update on X that staff had been evacuated from the studio and 13 people have since been arrested.

The head of news for TC Television Alina Manrique said she was in the control room, across from the studio, when the masked men burst into the building. One of them pointed a gun at her head and told her to get on the floor.

Authorities have not said who was behind the television station occupation, or a series of other attacks that have shaken the South American country recently, but they follow the escapes from prison of two of Ecuador’s most powerful drug gang leaders.

Following the incident, President Daniel Noboa signed an executive order declaring an internal armed conflict and listed several organised crime groups as “terrorist organisations” and “non-state actors”.

Police officers arrest one of the unidentified gunmen who burst into a studio of the state-owned TC television while live, in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Picture: AFP

The University of Guayaquil said all academic and administrative activities had been suspended given the social unrest nationwide.

At least seven police officers have been kidnapped by gang members since the 60-day state of emergency was declared on Monday.

The measures were introduced by President Noboa after the boss of the Los Choneros gang disappeared from a maximum security jail on Sunday.

It is not clear at this stage whether the storming of the television station is linked to the prison escape, however, it is a sign of the deteriorating security situation in the country.