Fernando Villavicencio, a candidate for the presidency of Ecuador, was shot to death Wednesday after holding a rally in Quito.
Videos circulating on social media captured the distressing scene, showing Villavicencio leaving the event and getting into a car, followed shortly by the sound of gunfire. Chaos ensued as people screamed and ducked for safety. The attack happened just 11 days before the presidential election was to take place.
The suspect was also killed, according to Reuters.
“A suspect, who was injured during the shootout with security personnel, was apprehended and moved, badly injured, to the (attorney general’s) unit in Quito. An ambulance from the fire department confirmed his death, the police are proceeding with collection of the cadaver,” the attorney general’s office said, the outlet reported.
BREAKING: Moment Ecuador presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was shot dead
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) August 10, 2023
Villavicencio was polling at 7.5% for the presidential race, according to Reuters. Villavicencio presented himself as an opposition to the corruption in the Ecuadorian government and to current president Guillermo Lasso. (RELATED: State Department Spent Taxpayer Money on Drag Shows in Ecuador)
Lasso took to Twitter to respond to the situation. “For his memory and his fight, I assure you that this crime will not remain unpunished,” Lasso wrote, Reuters reported. “Organized crime have gone very far, but all the weight of the law will fall on them.”
Lasso added that his security cabinet would meet shortly.