Ecuador’s nightclub shoots eight people

A shooting in a nightclub in Ecuador killed eight people and injured three others, police said.

The authorities were called in the property of Santa Lucía in the early hours of Sunday morning, where they found seven people already died after armed men opened fire. An eighth person died in the hospital.

Police said the motive for the shooting was not clear.

Santa Lucía is a small town in the coastal province of Guayas, one of the four provinces currently under the state of emergency to try to brake the violence of the gangs.

Among the dead was the owner of the nightclub, who was brother of the mayor of Santa Lucia, Ubaldo Urquizo, according to the AFP news agency and the local media.

The local government’s Facebook page offered condolences to the mayor after the death of his brother, writing “We join respect and solidarity with their sorrow, lifting our prayers so that they find strength and comfort during this difficult period”.

Filming is the last in a series of violent attacks in Guayas. Nine people were shot dead in a billiard room on July 19, and 17 others were killed in a bar on July 27.

The president of the equator, Daniel Noboa, declared war on the crime of the gangs in January 2024, but the violence continued despite the increase in the military presence.

Official figures indicate that 4,051 homicides were recorded between January and May 2025.

The country sees 70% of all the cocaine produced in the world go through its ports, according to government data.