At least seven people were killed and three others injured late Friday when gunmen disguised as soldiers opened fire inside a pool hall in the Nuevo Amanecer neighborhood of Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas, local media reported Saturday.

According to the news outlet Primicias, the attackers arrived in a vehicle around 10:30 p.m. local time and began shooting indiscriminately at customers inside the establishment.

This is the second mass shooting at a pool hall in the Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas province in less than a month. On August 17, a similar attack claimed the lives of seven people, according to police reports.

Ecuador has seen a dramatic increase in violent crime in 2025. The Ecuadorian Organized Crime Observatory reported 4,619 homicides in the first half of the year, marking a 47 percent increase compared to the same period in 2024 and the highest six-month toll in the country’s history.

The surge in violence has prompted the Ecuadorian government to intensify its efforts against drug trafficking gangs. In January 2024, President Daniel Noboa declared a state of “internal armed conflict” in response to escalating violence and organized crime across the country.

Authorities have launched an investigation into the latest attack, but no arrests have been reported yet. (ILKHA)