Schools and shops are closed in Ecuador’s biggest cities after a gang attack is broadcast on live TV

By ALLEN PANCHANA and GONZALO SOLANO
Associated Press

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (AP) — Schools and stores are shuttered, many people stayed home and soldiers are roaming the streets of Ecuador’s biggest cities after armed gang members invaded a television station during a live broadcast. Much of Ecuador simmered with tension following Tuesday’s attack at public channel TC Television in the coastal city of Guayaquil. Military personnel and tanks guarded hospitals, public transit and newsrooms there and in the capital city, Quito, on Wednesday. The intruders with guns and explosives unleashed at least 15 minutes of threats and assaults against employees. Police quickly intervened and arrested 13 people. However, the brazen daytime show of force broadcast into Ecuadorians’ homes and workplaces was unprecedented in the violence-plagued nation.