Police in Ecuador have arrested seven armed attackers who entered a hospital and tried to kill a teenager who was recovering in this hospital.
The gang members took the nurses hostage and exchanged fire with the police.
“All the hostages have been released and no one was injured. The attackers have been arrested,” said a local official.
The authorities consider that they intended to kill the 17-year-old, known by the nickname “dirty face”, as he is part of a rival gang.
The teenager was staying in the intensive care unit, after he had recently been shot. The armed attackers took five nurses hostage for more than an hour.
Hospital staff in the town of Choneu said they were locked in rooms while armed attackers were breaking down doors looking for the teenager.
“It seems that they didn’t know where the teenager was, that’s why they were ‘wandering’ around the hospital. Thanks to God and the police, we wouldn’t be here now to tell what happened,” said Homero Andrade, hospital spokesman.
The president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, also thanked the police through a post on Twitter, where he shared the footage showing how armed policemen enter the hospital.