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Barcelona SC Defender Mario Pineida, 33, Shot Dead in Guayaquil

Authorities cast the killing as part of Ecuador’s surge in gang violence during a record year for homicides.

Overview

  • Ecuador’s Interior Ministry and National Police confirmed Pineida was killed in a daylight shooting that also left another person dead and a third wounded.
  • Police secured the scene in the Samanes 4 area on Isidro Ayora Avenue, with no arrests reported and forensic and ballistic analyses pending.
  • Local outlet Primicias reported two assailants on motorcycles opened fire, with shots striking Pineida, his mother and another woman.
  • Barcelona Sporting Club issued a statement mourning Pineida, while tributes also came from the Ecuadorian federation and former club Fluminense.
  • The attack comes as Guayaquil experiences persistent gang-related violence, with the country projected to exceed 9,000 homicides this year, according to a crime observatory.