The mayor of an Ecuadorian seaside town has been assassinated as crime in the South American country continues to spiral out of control.
Agustin Intriago, the 38-year-old mayor of the Pacific coast town of Manta, Ecuador, was inspecting public works in the city when he was shot dead on Sunday.
Regional police commander Edwin Noguera told reporters a gunman got out of a stolen truck and opened fire on Intriago, hitting him and a woman described as a “collateral victim.” Both died of their injuries.
Security officials with the mayor returned fire and wounded the driver of the vehicle, who is now in police custody while receiving medical attention in hospital. Noguera said the man was a Venezuelan national without a prior criminal record.
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The suspected shooter escaped, Noguera said.
Police said officers had found a grenade in the truck and a gun which was likely used in the attack.
It was not immediately clear why the mayor had been attacked, though police said that he had reported receiving threats to authorities, without providing more details.
On Monday, Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso declared a state of emergency in three coastal provinces around Manta as violent clashes broke out on Sunday including multiple prison riots.
Manta, a city of well over 200,000 people known for its tuna fishing and tourism industry, has been affected by a rise in violent crime in Ecuador that includes a surge of gang violence.
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Fox News Digital reported over the weekend that in Guayaquil, Ecuador, the country’s largest city, residents have resorted to walling themselves into their neighborhoods to protect against criminals who are running rampant in the city.
An average of seven people a day were killed in Guayaquil in the first quarter of 2023, which is double the rate during the same time period last year, the outlet reported. Police say violence exploded following the pandemic and as drug gang wars erupted on the streets.
Last month, residents in Guayaquil’s Nueva Kennedy neighborhood installed 17 gates around its outskirts to protect the more than 600 residents and families who live in the area.
“Since the start of last year, we’ve unsuccessfully approached the police [about the crime problems]. The cases rose and rose until we were left defenseless,” Nueva Kennedy leader Francisco Torres told EFE.
Reuters and Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.