Armed gunmen took over a television news station in Ecuador on Tuesday evening amid the escape of two prominent leaders of gangs in the country.
The masked gunmen appeared to come into the news station of TC Television while they were live broadcasting and aimed their guns at the news anchors, according to video footage posted to X, formerly known as Twitter from Alerta Mundial.
As the news station was broadcasting live, one gunman appeared with a pistol, followed by a second and multiple others. The gunmen reportedly brought employees from the news station to the front and sat them on the ground, as shouting and gunshots can be heard.
One news anchor appeared to plead with the gunmen before having a firearm pointed at his neck.
“We are on air, so you know that you cannot play with the mafia,” one of the gunmen said, according to the Associated Press (AP).
WARNING: The following video contains violence that some viewers may find disturbing.
🇪🇨 | URGENTE: Delincuentes irrumpieron en TC Televisión y secuestran a todos en vivo y directo en Guayaquil, Ecuador. pic.twitter.com/ob1yleusOc
— Alerta Mundial (@AlertaMundoNews) January 9, 2024
As people were instructed to lie down, someone could be heard yelling, “Don’t shoot,” according to the outlet. Gunmen reportedly told the employees that they had “bombs,” according to Sky News.
The head of the news station, Alina Manrique told the AP that she had been ordered to get on the ground and that gunmen had “aimed” a gun at her head.
“I thought about my entire life, about my two children,” Manrique told the outlet.
The live broadcasting transmission was reportedly cut off after 15 minutes.
Video footage later surfaced of Ecuadorian police arresting the gunmen who had been involved in storming the news station. Thirteen people were reportedly arrested as a result, according to BBC News.
Manrique added that when police showed up, some of the gunmen attempted to flee and hide.
JUST IN – Police arrests all the gunmen who stormed Ecuador TV studio
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) January 9, 2024
pic.twitter.com/AtN3tI2Bsu
The storming of the news station came a day after Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa issued a 60-day state of emergency after Choneros gang leader, Adolfo Macias, escaped from his prison cell on Sunday.
Macias, who was serving a 36-year sentence after being convicted of murder and drug trafficking, escaped on the same day he was supposed to be transferred to a maximum security prison.