Heavily armed assailants opened fire outside a nightclub in the rural canton of Santa Lucía, in Ecuador’s Guayas province, shortly after 1:15 a.m. local time on Sunday, killing eight people and wounding at least three others, according to the Ecuadorian National Police. Investigators said the attackers arrived on motorcycles and in two pickup trucks, discharged roughly 80 rounds from pistols and assault rifles, and fled before officers reached the scene. The dead include Jorge Urquizo, brother of Santa Lucía’s mayor and owner of the venue, police officials told reporters. Seven victims died at the scene and an eighth succumbed to injuries at a local hospital. Authorities have yet to identify suspects or establish a motive but are examining links to rival criminal groups vying for control of drug-trafficking routes along the Pacific coast. The shooting adds to a wave of violence that prompted President Daniel Noboa to maintain states of emergency across Guayas and three other coastal provinces. Ecuador recorded 8,008 homicides in 2023—a rate of 47 per 100,000 inhabitants, the highest in South America—and more than 4,600 killings so far this year despite expanded military deployments. Police said the nightclub attack remains under investigation and urged the public to provide information on the gunmen’s whereabouts.