On Thursday, August 10th, Estefany Puente, a candidate for deputy in the National Assembly of Ecuador, was the victim of a shooting.
The attack occurred just one day after presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was shot and killed.
This terrible tragedy has been linked to the Los Lobos criminal gang, which claimed responsibility for it.
As a result of this incident, President Guillermo Lasso declared a state of emergency in the country with presidential elections still scheduled for August 20th.
Two unidentified men targeted Puente’s car while she was leaving a social organization in Quevedo with her father and campaign worker inside.
Images circulating on social media show that a bullet struck Estefany’s left arm and that her car’s windshield had been shattered by gunfire and broken glass.
Local police are still investigating the motive behind the attack and examining footage from security cameras nearby.
In addition to Puente being injured nine other people were hurt during this incident as well.
Just one day prior to this attack on Estefany Puente right-wing candidate Fernando Villavicencio had been fatally shot three times in his head at an event in Quito, Ecuador’s capital city.
Villavicencio’s main platform revolved around repression of criminal organizations that dominate through drug trafficking throughout Ecuadorian territory.
Six people have already been arrested under suspicion of involvement in his death while another suspect died due to gunshots from local police officers trying apprehend him or her during their investigation into these events.
It is truly heartbreaking what has happened over these past few days in Ecuador—the deaths of two political candidates along with nine innocent bystanders injured.
