Guayaquil guard killed; two arrested after armed mall robbery attempt

On July 9, a 38‑year‑old security guard was shot dead in the Portete district of Guayaquil while on public streets, an attack police linked to a possible robbery of his motorcycle. Five 9 mm shell casings were recovered and the investigation remains open.

Two days earlier, on July 7, an armed group tried to steal about $507,000 being transported through a southern Guayaquil shopping centre. The assailants opened fire on the security detail, killing two of their own members and wounding a guard. Three suspects – Rogger Andrés Villafuerte Campoverde, Waldo and Arturo – were later arrested and placed in preventive detention.

Both incidents are part of a wave of violent crime in Guayaquil, where authorities have recorded over 150 homicides in the first half of the year.