Chilling video shows gunmen storm TV channel office, take staff hostage in Ecuador
A TV station in Ecuador was subject to a terrifying incident on Tuesday as gunmen stormed the building during a live broadcast, firing shots and ordering staff to get on the ground.
Local Ecuadorean news outlet El Universo reported that several journalists and camera operators were asking for help via group chats as the gunmen entered the TC Mi Canal news building on Tuesday afternoon.
“They wanted to kill the lot of us. Help us,” read one group chat message.
The incident was captured on camera.
BREAKING: Gunmen storm TV channel in Ecuador, take hostages pic.twitter.com/UYQrYoOBcC
— BNO News (@BNONews) January 9, 2024
This comes a day after Ecuadorean president Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency for 60 days after convicted gang leader Adolfo Macías Villamar — known as “Fito” — escaped from his prison cell at a maximum security institution.
Villamar leads the Los Choneros gang, which BBC describes as a “powerful” group that is behind several of the violent and deadly prison riots that have taken place in the country over the past month.
When Noboa took power in November, his key campaign promises were to bring an end to violence related to the drug trade that’s taken place in public and prisons, notes Reuters.
He also took office after another presidential candidate –Fernando Villavicencio– was assassinated in August.
Noboa’s state of emergency enforced military patrols in prisons and set a national evening curfew.
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