In what seemed to be a gang shootout, six people were murdered and six others were injured on Monday in Guayaquil, an Ecuadorian port city plagued by a wave of violence attributed to an escalating drug war, according to authorities.
The second mass shooting in Guayaquil this month, according to police colonel Marcelo Castillo, seemed to be a gang war’s score-settling operation.
All six injured people were doing well.
As opposing gangs intensify their battle for drug markets and routes in Ecuador’s congested jails and on the country’s streets, such attacks have increased in frequency, particularly in Guayaquil, leaving a trail of dead bodies in their wake.
Since February 2021, more than 420 inmates have perished in violent clashes between opposing criminal gangs in Ecuadorian jails; many of them were decapitated or burned alive. Inmates may now access weapons and explosives because of widespread guard corruption.
There have been many vehicle bomb blasts in Ecuadorian cities as the lawlessness grows, and victims with missing heads have been found hanging from pedestrian bridges.
Sadistic kidnappings, in which the victims’ loved ones are threatened into paying more ransom, are another growing problem in the nation.
Castillo said that in the shooting on Monday, the assailants pulled up in a dark car in the early hours in a busy area.
Despite there being other people in the street, “four or five got out” and started firing.
The policeman declared, “It’s just retaliation for earlier violent acts.” “They kill each other without showing any mercy.”
He continued by saying that one of those deceased had a history of “criminal association,” and one of the injured was well-known for being involved in drug trafficking.
According to Castillo, 132 expended cartridges were discovered at the site.
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