Eight people were killed and two others injured early Sunday when gunmen opened fire outside a nightclub in the southwestern Ecuadorian town of Santa Lucia, police said.
The attackers arrived in two pickup trucks and began shooting at patrons gathered outside the venue around 1:15 a.m. local time (0615 GMT), police colonel Javier Chango told reporters. Seven people were pronounced dead at the scene, and an eighth died later in hospital.
Among the victims was nightclub owner Jorge Urquizo, the brother of Santa Lucia’s mayor, Ubaldo Urquizo.
Authorities recovered approximately 800 shell casings from the area. The suspects fled in their vehicles along an unknown route, Chango said.
Police detained a man carrying a revolver while driving a truck nearby, but have not confirmed any link to the shooting. The motive remains under investigation.
The bodies were transferred to a morgue in the nearby city of Daule.
The mayor’s office offered condolences in a statement, saying, “We unite in sorrow and prayer for this violent attack that has struck our community.”
