At least eight people have been pronounced dead and three others injured after unknown gunmen opened fire at a nightclub in Ecuador.
The shooting took place in the rural area of Santa Lucía in the coastal province of Guayas, considered one of the country’s most dangerous.
As learnt, seven of the victims, who were between 20 and 40 years old, died at the club and the eighth person, said to have sustained deep wounds, is currently at a hospital.
Among the dead was the owner of the nightclub, who was brother to Santa Lucía’s mayor Ubaldo Urquizo.
Eyewitness accounts indicated that the armed assailants arrived after midnight on motorcycles and in pickup trucks, and opened fire on people who were drinking outside the venue.
According to the police on Monday, officers on duty received an emergency call to report to the Santa Lucía property in the early hours of Sunday morning, where they found seven people already deceased after gunmen opened fire.
They found “several people wounded and seven bodies,” Police Colonel Javier Chango said, adding that the motive for the shooting remains unclear.
After the attack, the gunmen fled along an “unknown route,” Chango said.
The shooting occurred just two days after another violent incident, in which gunmen attacked a boat near El Oro province along the country’s southwest coast.
Four people were killed in that attack, and several others remain missing after the suspects reportedly launched explosives at the vessel.
Dozens of people have been killed in recent months, with most of the violence concentrated in four of Ecuador’s coastal provinces. These include El Oro, Guayas, Manabí, and Los Ríos. All four are currently under a state of emergency.
President Daniel Noboa declared war on gang crime in January 2024. However, violence has continued despite an increased military presence.
In 2023 alone, Ecuador recorded more than 8,000 deaths, which represents an eightfold increase compared to 2018. This figure places the country above others that are well known for cartel-related violence, such as Mexico and Colombia.
A new record for the highest number of killings in a single month was also set in January 2024, with 781 homicides reported.
