Law enforcement arrived at the scene following an emergency call warning the shooting, and found “several people were injured and seven bodies,” Colonel Javier Chango told a press conference, with the eighth person dead in the hospital, AFP reported.
The gunman arrived at two pickup trucks and fired fire at people drinking outside a nightclub at local time (0615 GMT) in Santarcia, which has a population of 38,000 in Guayas.
Among the dead was Holhelchizo, the owner of the nightclub, who was the brother of the mayor of Santarcia.
Police found 800 cartridge cases at the scene.
After the attack, the gunman returned to the truck and fled along “an unknown route,” Chango said.
Local police picked up a man driving a truck carrying a revolver, but were unable to determine whether he was involved in the attack, the report added.
MA/PR