Ecuador international defender Mario Pineida has been shot dead in a drive-by shooting in Guayaquil. The 33-year-old, his mother and another woman were targeted by two people on motorbikes while standing outside a shop, according to local media.
Pineida's death has been confirmed by Ecuador's Interior Ministry and his current club, Barcelona de Guayaquil, who released a statement. The Ecuadorian Football Federation also issued a statement condemning the violence.
The shooting is the latest in a series of attacks on footballers in Guayaquil. In September, three second-tier players were killed, and a fourth was wounded in a shooting in October.
Pineida won nine caps for Ecuador, the most recent in 2021. He began his career at Independiente del Valle in 2010, moved to Guayaquil in 2016, and had a brief loan spell at Brazilian club Fluminense. Both former clubs paid tribute to him on social media.
Ecuador is expected to record its most violent year on record, surpassing 9,000 murders for the first time, according to the Ecuadorian Observatory of Organized Crime. Guayaquil is considered the epicentre of gang violence, with 1,900 murders recorded between January and September.
