At least eight dead in a day of terror in Ecuador

At least eight people were killed and two were injured in several armed attacks that took place yesterday in various parts of the coastal city of Guayaquil, Mayor Aquiles Álvarez confirmed, shortly after a heavily armed group seized Guayaquil facilities. TC Television channel and take employees hostage.

The police were able to recover the buildings and arrest thirteen people, but in other parts of the city there were violent events that resulted in the death of eight people, in a day of terror that also devastated several cities in the country, including the capital Quito. IN Guayaquil, the epicenter of violence and the country’s second largest city, there were robberies, robberies and shootings in commercial areas.

In the north of the capital, several people shot at vehicles passing near them, killing five people and injuring a student from a school in the area. Nearby, an armed group broke into a spare parts warehouse and killed three people.

“This must be called an act of terrorism,” said the general Victor Herrerathe commander of the Metropolitan Police of Guayaquil, who assured that the attackers belong to the organized crime group “Los Tiguerones”, a gang dedicated to drug trafficking, extortion, murder and arms trafficking.

The State Department reported that it will prosecute those arrested for the crime of terrorism.

In a few hours, the streets of Guayaquil qThey were almost deserted, with self-imposed curfews and closed shops, universities, the mainland bus terminal and recreation centers. The Metrovía transport system has suspended operations “due to the situation facing the city”, while the international airport has announced that only passengers can enter the airport terminal.

“We call on citizens to remain calm and stay in their homes,” Alberto Molina, governor (representative of the executive branch) of the province of Guayas, whose capital is Guayaquil.

The municipal security services received 1,932 calls for the alarm, of which 650 were emergency cases, including the intrusion of armed persons into five hospitals in the city, although the intervention National Police and Armed Forces enabled control over the situation.

Fires in vehicles and an agent injured by gunshots were also recorded. In addition to those arrested for downloading television, fourteen more people were arrested during the afternoon.

The panic that Guayaquil experienced today has sparked all kinds of rumours, to the extent that local authorities have been forced to deny the alleged poisoning of the city’s drinking water.

Armed men with hoods
The armed attacks came after a group of heavily armed hooded men stormed the studio of public channel TC Television, in the north of the city, at 14:15 (19:15 GMT) and took away journalists, technicians and administrative staff. hostage..

Hooded men stormed the site while the news was being broadcast live and fired several shots to intimidate workers who alerted them to what was happening on social media.

The attackers asked the journalists to send President Daniel Noboa a video asking him not to allow the police to enter the channel’s premises, which ultimately did not happen.

Special forces agents finally entered the canal, freed all the hostages and arrested thirteen attackers. Several of them had heavy caliber weapons. An explosive device, two hand grenades and two vehicles were also seized.

Those arrested were taken to the premises of the Prosecutor’s Office under strong police supervision. Agents cordoned off the surrounding streets to prevent a possible attack.

In addition to closing several streets and avenues, police officers went to hospitals and media houses to guarantee the safety of workers. This circumstance and the absence of public transportation, hundreds of people had to walk home or ask for help from the few vehicles that were still plying the city.