Ecuadorian police say soccer player Mario Pineida has been shot dead in an apparent attack

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QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuadorian police said on Wednesday that Mario Pineida, a 33-year-old Barcelona de Guayaquil defender and former national team player, was shot dead in an apparent attack as violence escalates in the Andean nation.

Another person who police did not identify was also killed in the incident, and a third was wounded.

Ecuador's Interior Ministry confirmed Pineida's death without providing details. Barcelona de Guayaquil said in a statement its fans are saddened by Pineida's death.

Pineida played eight games for Ecuador but was not involved in the team qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. His last game for Ecuador was at the 2021 Copa América, as a late substitute in a group-stage game against Brazil. He also went to the 2017 edition.

Pineida started his professional career at Independiente del Valle, where he played from 2010 to 2015. He then moved to the club of the coastal city of Guayaquil in 2016 and won two league titles there. The defender also had a brief spell at Brazil’s Fluminense in 2022.

Ecuadorian media reported the incident took place in the region of Samanes in the north end of Guayaquil, which lies 265 kilometers (165 miles) southwest of the capital Quito.

Ecuador is expected to have its most violent year on record with more than 9,000 homicides, according to the Ecuadorian Observatory of Organized Crime. That figure was at 7,063 violent deaths last year and a then-record 8,248 in 2023.

President Daniel Noboa has pledged to fight criminal organizations that have expanded their operations in Ecuadorian territory in connection with international drug cartels.

In November, a 16-year-old footballer of Independiente del Valle died from a stray bullet, also in Guayaquil. Two months earlier, Maicol Valencia and Leandro Yépez, both players of Exapromo Costa, and Jonathan González, of 22 de Junio died from gunshot wounds.

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