A group of unidentified armed men have killed an Ecuadorian footballer, Mario Pinieda, following a gunshot attack targeted against him.
The assailants were said to have rode on their motorcycles and opened fire at him, his mother and another woman, causing his death and injuries to other victims, and massive unrest in the area.
The Ministry of Interior, announced the incident stating that the death of Pinieda, who was part of the country’s national team for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup Qualifiers, is sorrowful, also announcing that efforts are ongoing to nab the perpetrators of the murder act.
The ministry, on Thursday, noted that the incident which happened in the port city of Guayaquil yesterday, is a further criminal act against footballers in the country.
It added that the Guayaquil region has become a hotspot for gang violence linked to drug trafficking and abuse, adding that soccer players in Ecuador have been targeted in recent months.
The ministry recalled that in September, three players from the country’s second division were killed, one of them allegedly linked to sports betting. In November, a local footballer, Bryan Angula, was wounded in a shooting.
Cases of car bombings and extortion alongside 1,900 cases of murder have been recorded between January and September in Guayaquil, the highest toll in Ecuador in the duration.
