Gunmen killed seven people and injured four others during an assault on a billiards establishment in Santo Domingo late Friday evening. Social media footage captured masked attackers firing weapons while patrons played pool games at the venue located 160 kilometers west of Quito. Police Colonel Beatriz Benavides attributed the violence to territorial conflicts between criminal organizations and armed groups. Ecuador serves as a departure point for cocaine shipments destined for American and European markets while hosting various criminal enterprises engaged in extortion and assassination services. Some groups maintain connections with cartels operating from Mexico, Colombia, and Albania.
This incident represents the fourth similar attack within recent weeks, with another pool hall massacre claiming seven lives during August in the same city. Crime statistics reveal Ecuador experienced over 4,600 homicides during the first six months, marking a 47 percent surge compared with the previous year, according to the Ecuadoran Observatory of Organized Crime. President Daniel Noboa's administration captured the nation's leading gang figure during June before extraditing him to face American drug and weapons trafficking charges the following month.
This incident represents the fourth similar attack within recent weeks, with another pool hall massacre claiming seven lives during August in the same city. Crime statistics reveal Ecuador experienced over 4,600 homicides during the first six months, marking a 47 percent surge compared with the previous year, according to the Ecuadoran Observatory of Organized Crime. President Daniel Noboa's administration captured the nation's leading gang figure during June before extraditing him to face American drug and weapons trafficking charges the following month.
