A CBS affiliated TV station went dark in Albuquerque after an intruder invaded its newsroom on Sunday night, the broadcast network reported, just days after an intruder killed five people in the newsroom of a newspaper in Maryland.
KRQE-TV in New Mexico was forced to halt broadcasting for almost two hours while police searched the premises.
Albuquerque police officer Simon Drobik said authorities were alerted by the station’s news staff at around 8.30 p.m. after an unidentified man reportedly walked into the newsroom and sat down on the set, The Albuquerque Journal reported.
The building was evacuated half an hour later while two police dogs searched the building but the man was not found.
A journalist from the NBC San Francisco Bay area station, Sergio Quintana, live tweeted about the incident as it unfolded.
KRQE-TV reporter Madeline Schmitt took to social media to document the ordeal.
"An unauthorized person entered our building Sunday night and police were called," she tweeted, adding that "broadcast operations had to cease while police searched the premises."
She reassured followers that all staff were reported safe.
"KRQE TV, the CBS affiliate in Albuquerque went to color bars," he posted. "There are reports that an #intruder is in the building. It’s been evacuated. KOB TV, the NBC Station is across the street. It’s on lockdown."
It was unclear where the intruder went or what his intentions were, but Drobik said police were not prepared to take any risks.
"Given recent attacks on media outlets, we were not going to take any chances," he said.
The incident comes three days after a gunman identified as Jarrod Ramos opened fire in the newsroom of The Capital Gazett in Maryland's capital, killing five and wounding several others.
Media workers are becoming increasingly vulnerable to attacks, statistics show.
The Committee to Protect Journalists reported that at least 11 journalists at HuffPost, their families and others were harassed and threatened online in late May and early June.
The organization also found that in 43 journalists were physically attacked or had their equipment damaged while doing their jobs in 2017.
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