Ecuador | South Guasmo | At least 8 dead and 8 injured in attack in Guayaquil

At least eight people died and another eight were injured in an armed attack that occurred this Saturday night in the coastal province of Guayas, located in the southwest of Ecuadora country that has been in a state of emergency since last January as a measure to stop the rise of violence.

A preliminary report from the Police, based on versions of residents, shows that, at approximately 6:55 p.m. local time (23:55 GMT), “several armed individuals arrived aboard a vehicle, who shot at a group of people who were at the site.”

“As a result of this event, two people died instantly, and several people were injured, the same They were transferred to different health homes”, he indicated.

He added that, after his transfer and due to the severity of the injuries, 6 people had died. “Preliminarily, a figure of 8 dead and 8 injured is being handled,” he noted.

According to the newspaper Expreso de Guayaquil, The attack occurred during a volleyball match.

Due to the circumstances, the Silver code (for the protection of health homes) and “injured people are under police protection,” he explained.

Initially, and preliminarily, the newspaper El Universo, of Guayaquil noted that the attack had left seven dead and twelve injured.

“A burst of gunshots alarmed the residents of the Mariuxi Febres Cordero sector, in southern Guasmo,” published adding that the attack occurred two blocks from the Guasmo Sur hospital.

The province of Guayas is one of the most affected by violence in Ecuador.

Violent weekend

The armed attack on Guayas It adds to other violent events that occurred in the first two days of holiday by Easter that takes place at the national level.

On Friday, eleven people were kidnapped, including five minors, in the coastal province of Manabí.

The bodies of five of the kidnapped adults were found without vital signs and with gunshot wounds.while another adult and the minors were left alive.

The local press points out that all those kidnapped in a hotel -on the first of three days off for Easter- They were relatives but the Police have not made reference to it.

About that case, The president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, said that what happened “remembers that the battle continues.”

“This,” he added, “is a sign that the narcoterrorism and their allies are looking for spaces to frighten us, but they will not succeed. My solidarity with the families who have been victims of the violence of the terrorists who intend to destroy our country.”

Two people have been arrested as part of the investigations into the kidnapping and murder in the area of Ayampein the province of Manabi.

In the same province, four people were murdered this weekend, including a military officer on active duty.

In another violent event this weekend, two police officers were injured in an attack in Guayas, in a case for which preventive detention has been ordered for three suspects.

Ecuador is in a state of emergency and in an “internal armed conflict”against criminal gangs, decreed last January by Noboa, at a time of a growing wave of violence.