Three killed in a series of armed attacks in Santa Elena, Ecuador

Four armed attacks occurred within six hours on the holiday night of the Battle of Pichincha in the coastal province of Santa Elena, Ecuador. The first shooting took place after 18:00 in the neighborhoods of 11 de Enero and Márquez de la Plata in Santa Elena, where gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on two men; one died and the other was taken to Liborio Panchana Hospital. At 21:30 a second incident unfolded on Second Avenue in the tourist resort of Salinas, where a young man was shot dead while attempting to rob an armed civilian, and a revolver was recovered at the scene. Around 22:00 a third attack hit a house in the Simón Bolívar neighborhood of the Muey parish, wounding a resident who remains in critical condition. The final attack, at about 23:00 in the La Crucita area of Santa Elena, resulted in the instantaneous death of Vladimir Villón, who was shot multiple times in the head.

The violence brings the province's homicide total to 65 for the year, most linked to organized sicariate activity, and has heightened public alarm. Residents reported a human skull discovered the following morning near the Velasco Ibarra reservoir in the La Libertad canton, prompting police investigations.

Authorities are probing the coordinated nature of the attacks and the broader rise in contract killings across the peninsula.