Eight people killed in barrage of gunfire on Ecuador nightclub
Law enforcement arrived on the scene following an emergency call alerting them to a shooting, and found 'several people wounded and seven bodies', said Javier Chango, the police colonel, at a press conference on Sunday, adding that an eighth person died in the hospital.
The gunmen arrived in two pickup trucks and opened fire on people drinking outside the nightclub at 1.15am local time in Santa Lucía, which has a population of 38,000, in the Guayas province.
Among the dead was the nightclub owner, Jorge Urquizo, who was the brother of Santa Lucía's mayor.
Police found 800 cartridge cases at the scene.
After the attack the gunmen got back in their trucks and fled along an 'unknown route', Chango said.
The local police picked up a man driving a truck who was carrying a revolver, but were not able to determine whether he was involved in the attack.
The police said they had yet to work out a motive for the shooting.
The bodies of the dead were taken to a morgue in the neighboring city of Daule.
The office of Santa Lucía's mayor, Ubaldo Urquizo, expressed condolences on Sunday.
'We unite in sorrow and prayer for this violent attack that has struck our community,' the office said on social media.
Ecuador, once a peaceful haven between the world's two top cocaine exporters, Colombia and Peru, has seen violence erupt in recent years as gangs with ties to Mexican and Colombian cartels vie for control.
More than 70% of all cocaine produced in the world now passes through Ecuador's ports, according to government data.
Guayas is one of four provinces where the president, Daniel Noboa, recently declared a two-month state of emergency to combat gang violence.
However, despite a stepped-up military presence authorities have not stemmed the bloodshed.
More than 4,051 homicides were recorded between January and May, according to official figures. Analysts believe it is the most violent start to a year in the country's recent history.
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