Nine killed in Ecuador pool hall were ‘collateral victims’, say police

Police in Ecuador say nine people shot dead by gunmen in a pool hall on Saturday were “collateral victims” and not the intended targets of a premeditated attack.

Preliminary investigations suggest the gunmen were chasing two men on a motorcycle in the town of Playas on Saturday.

When one tried to hide in the pool hall, the gunmen burst in and opened fire indiscriminately, killing nine people inside, investigators said.

It is the latest shooting where locals have been caught up in spiralling gang violence that has sent Ecuador’s murder rate soaring to one of the highest in the region.

Local media said the nine were childhood friends who had gathered in Playas, a coastal town in Guayas province, to play pool.

“At one point, a person who did not belong to this group of guys snuck in,” police Lieutenant Colonel Gem Villacís said.

The gunmen arrived in a car and fired at least 80 bullets, investigators said.

Lt-Col Villacís said their intended target escaped.

“It wasn’t the group [of friends] the gunmen were after but apparently this individual,” the officer said without disclosing the identity of the man in question.

The nine dead included a local football coach and the son of a radio presenter. Two other people were injured.

Playas has declared a state of emergency and extra police and soldiers have been deployed.

The town is popular with Ecuadorean tourists because of its beaches and seaside location. The province of Guayas, however, is among the worst hit by gang violence.

Daniel Noboa, Ecuador’s president, declared war on the gangs in January 2024, but preliminary figures show that more than 4,000 people were murdered in the first five months of this year.

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