Gunmen kill 17, injure 14 in bar massacre in Ecuador

At least 17 people were killed and 14 others were injured when gunmen opened fire at a crowded bar in Ecuador, according to officials and local media reports.

The attack occurred around 9 p.m. on Sunday in the town of El Empalme, in Ecuador’s Guayas region, during festivities leading up to the parish’s anniversary, according to local officials.

Witnesses said a group of around 50 people had gathered at the open-air bar when two trucks arrived carrying armed men who began shooting indiscriminately at customers using rifles and handguns.

“Witnesses told us that about eight to ten people got out of the vehicles,” said Óscar Valencia, the police chief in charge of the El Empalme district. He said the victims attempted to flee during the attack.

Police believe the massacre was linked to a conflict between rival drug trafficking organizations, Los Lobos and Los Choneros. According to Valencia, the attackers were targeting a man who had been at the location earlier in the evening.

“The hypothesis is that they were looking for someone,” he said, adding that a separate double homicide had occurred earlier that day and may be connected.

Among the 17 people killed were three women and a 15-year-old boy. The injured were taken to hospitals in the region, with some reported to be in serious condition.

The attack comes as several provinces in Ecuador remain under a state of emergency, declared by President Daniel Noboa in response to escalating gang violence nationwide. Noboa has characterized the country’s struggle against criminal organizations as a “war” and designated gangs as terrorist groups.