Barcelona SC player Mario Pineida was killed in an armed attack on Thursday in the Samanes 4 area of northern Guayaquil.
According to the National Police, the assault occurred when two individuals on a motorcycle opened fire on three people outside a local butcher shop.
Pineida, 33, was with his mother and another woman at the time of the attack. Officials confirmed he died instantly. At least one other person was also killed in the incident.
“Barcelona Sporting Club, informs, with deep regret, that it has been officially notified of the death of our player Mario Pineida, a fact that occurred after an attack against him,” the club said on social media.
“This unfortunate news makes all of us who are part of the institution deeply dismayed…,” it added.
The left-back was a respected figure in Ecuadorian football. He won national league titles with Barcelona SC in 2016 and 2020, earned call-ups to the Ecuadorian national team, and played for clubs including Fluminense, El Nacional, and Independiente del Valle. His death has sent waves of shock and sadness throughout the country’s sports community.
This tragedy follows several other recent violent deaths involving footballers in Ecuador. In November, a 16-year-old player from Independiente del Valle died after being hit by a stray bullet in Guayaquil. Two months earlier, three players from local clubs, Maicol Valencia, Leandro Yépez, and Jonathan González, were also killed in shootings.
