2 killed in shooting in Ecuador

https://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/seguridad/indagan-doble-crimen-guayaquil-arrojan-granada-vivienda.html

A security video shows how five men get out of a white van and shoot two people. The double crime took place on Thursday night, August 4, 2022, in Vergeles, north of Guayaquil. On Friday morning, August 5, near the place, a neighbor reported that a grenade was thrown on the roof of his house, but the device did not detonate.

The two murdered men were outside a house repairing a motorcycle. Neither of them had a criminal record. Fabary Montalvo, chief of the Pascuales district, indicated that more than 28 bullet remains from large caliber weapons (rifle type) and 9 millimeter caliber (pistols) were found at the site.

Preventive service agents went to a house in the same sector, where a neighbor reported that a fragmentation grenade was thrown on the roof of his house, but the device fell on the roof without exploding. A police bomb squad was expected to deactivate the device.

Meanwhile, security footage of the night's armed attack shows two other young men and even a dog running for their lives from the scene. The five gunmen who got out of the white van riddled the victims on the ground, leaving the bodies next to the motorcycle they were repairing.

The double crime provoked consternation and scenes of grief among family members, who cried out on their knees or shouted for the murders. They pointed to a possible mistake in the case of one of the victims, who approached the house-workshop to greet a friend, they said.

Hours after the murders, but in another sector of Guayaquil, the National Police reported the apprehension of two men in possession of a rifle, a submachine gun and two pistols. Among the evidence of the operation were two cars, including a white van.

This type of minivan used in the double crime in Vergeles was also used in a violent incident in Guasmo (south), so they are investigating whether there is a connection.

Colonel Christian Mayorga, chief of the Portete district of the Police, informed that the apprehension was registered in 29th and J streets, in the Suburb of Guayaquil. The "unusual" attitude of the two men caught the attention of police officers patrolling the area.

The suspects fled from the police officers, who detained them after a chase. One of them ran to a vehicle, but the officers managed to prevent him from activating the weapons found in the vehicle, according to the officer.

"A mini Uzi submachine gun was found in a minivan and a 5.56 caliber rifle was found in a car," Mayorga said. Two women who were in the cars managed to escape from the place.