'Please don't shoot': Ecuador gunmen storm TV studio during live broadcast. Video

A group of masked and armed gunmen stormed a television studio in Ecuador's Guayaquil city and threatened the staff during a live broadcast on Tuesday, threatening to execute security forces and civilians. Chilling videos of the incident went viral on social media in which employees of the TV channel ‘TC’ can be seen being forced onto the floor by the attackers.

In one of the videos, an employee can be heard screaming in apparent pain as the studio lights went off but the live broadcast continued. While, another person was heard saying: “Don't shoot, please don't shoot”. Meanwhile, a TC employee told news agency AFP in a WhatsApp message: “Please, they came in to kill us. God don't let this happen. The criminals are on air.”

After around 30 minutes, police officers entered the studio to free the staff members and arrested 13 gunmen. The officials also recovered several weapons from the intruders.

This comes as Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency for 60 days after a recent prison escape by one of Ecuador's most powerful criminal bosses - Adolfo Macias, alias Fito. On Tuesday, Naboa also ordered the armed forces to carry out military operations to neutralise the armed men.

In response to the President's action, gangsters also kidnapped police officers and set off explosives in several cities. In one of the videos, the gunmen can be seen forcing an officer to read a statement at gunpoint. “You declared war, you will get war. You declared a state of emergency. We declare police, civilians, and soldiers to be the spoils of war. Anyone found on the street after 11 pm will be executed,” the terrified officer read.

What is causing the violence in Ecuador?

The criminal violence first began in prisons among inmates due to disputes between gangs for control of the penitentiaries, national and international drug smuggling routes, and control of turf for the sale of drugs, reported AFP. Later on, the violence began to spread outside the prisons, shattering the tranquility of Ecuadorians' daily lives.

The surge in violence in the country began in February 2021 with a massacre inside the country's most violent prison - Literol Penitentiary, in which at least 79 people died. In September last year, another massacre took place inside the prison which killed 116 inmates with several of them beheaded, reported AFP. According to reports, a total of 18 clashes took place inside prisons in the past three years, killing over 450 people.

On Monday, Noboa - who was elected in October last year - pledged to fight the rampant violence in the country.

(With inputs from agencies)

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