- Former Ecuador defender Pineida has been shot dead in Guayaquil, highlighting the growing wave of gang-related violence gripping the city, which has recorded nearly 1,900 murders this year.
Former Ecuador international Pineida was shot dead on Wednesday in the northern part of Guayaquil, local media reported.
According to reports, the ex-footballer was attacked by two gunmen on motorbikes who opened fire outside a shop, hitting Pineida, his mother and another woman. The circumstances surrounding the attack remain unclear.
Ecuador’s Interior Ministry said a special police unit has been deployed to investigate the killing.
Guayaquil has increasingly become a hotspot for gang violence and drug trafficking, with 1,900 murders recorded between January and September, the highest number in the country. The surge in crime has also affected football, with three second-tier players killed in September and another local player wounded in a shooting in October.
Pineida earned nine international caps for Ecuador between 2014 and 2021. He started his professional career at Independiente del Valle before joining Barcelona SC in Guayaquil in 2016. He also had loan spells at Fluminense in Brazil and El Nacional.
Tributes poured in following his death. Independiente del Valle and Fluminense paid tribute on social media, while Barcelona SC said the news had left the club “deeply dismayed”.
The Ecuadorian Football Federation condemned the killing and extended condolences to Pineida’s family, joining growing calls for action against the rising violence in the country.
