A live broadcast by Ecuadorean television station TC was interrupted on Tuesday by hooded and armed people, who obliged staff to lie on the floor, as shots and yelling were heard.
Some of the hooded people were later seen on the feed leaving a sound stage with some staff.
The incident comes amid the kidnappings of at least seven police officers and a series of explosions, a day after President Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency.
A live feed, which eventually cut out, showed staff huddling on the floor of TC’s studios in Guayaquil, as armed figures gestured at the camera. Someone on the live feed could be heard yelling “no police.”
The national police said on social media its specialized units were deployed at the location to attend to the emergency.
Noboa, son of one of the country’s richest men, took office in November promising to stem a wave of drug trade-related violence on the streets and in prisons which has been growing for years.
Noboa declared a 60-day state of emergency – a tool used by his predecessor to little success – on Monday, enabling military patrols, including in prisons, and setting a national nighttime curfew.
The measure was a response to the apparent escape of Adolfo Macias, leader of the Los Choneros criminal gang, from the prison where he was serving a 34-year sentence, and other recent prison incidents, including hostage-takings of guards.
(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia in Quito, additional reporting by Tito Correa and Karen Toro. Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb. Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Rosalba O’Brien)
