Another boy was killed in a hitman-style attack near downtown Santa Ana.
A man was shot and killed by an unknown person, who attacked him while he was waiting for a food order at a restaurant located on 17th street and 20th avenue, near Flavio Reyes avenue, pink zone of Manta. It happened around 11:00 pm on Thursday.
The victim was identified as Gabriel Felipe Álava Loor, 32, who was inside a vehicle with his daughter, waiting for their food, when he was attacked.
“The people who were in this place say that a person has approached walking and proceeded to shoot this citizen three times. They treated him in an ambulance, but after he was transferred to the hospital, his death was confirmed, ”said Patricio Almendáriz, head of the Manta Police District.
Álava was a well-known merchant, owned a restaurant, and has no judicial record, according to previous investigations by the Police.
“He was accompanied by a daughter (about six years old), and when he saw that he was hit, he tried to get out of the vehicle; unfortunately, he had a decay and could not carry out another maneuver, “said Almendáriz.
Despite the fact that the roads in Manta were closed, the person who shot Álava could not be found. Witnesses indicate that the hitman was wearing a black hooded diver, shorts jean and sports shoes.
Grief in Santa Ana for the murder of a child
Another crime that shocked Manabí was the one that left the 8-year-old boy Erick Macías Mieles as a mortal victim.
It was around 8:00 p.m. on Thursday when the minor was in the middle of an attack directed against Daniel MS, who was injured and remains stable in a clinic in Portoviejo.
The head in charge of the May 24 Police District, William Borja, said that the attack, which occurred at the El Níspero site, five kilometers from downtown Santa Ana, was perpetrated when the driver of the van in which the victims decided to stop the march to talk with another person. A few seconds later a motorcyclist approached and opened fire.
“We closed the access roads to the cantons of our district. We carried out operations to try to verify the motorcycle, but we could not find those responsible, “said Borja.
Family members of the murdered child indicated that he accompanied Daniel MS to deliver a load of sugarcane to another community in Santa Ana, and that when he returned, the attack took place. Until now they do not understand why they were attacked.
The wounded were taken to the Verdi Cevallos Balda hospital in Portoviejo, where the death of the child was confirmed, while the adult was operated on.
Little Erick’s mother could not contain the pain over the death of one of her two sons, and threw herself on the stretcher that carried the body seconds before he entered the Forensic Medicine vehicle that took him to the Manta forensic center.
So far in 2021, 174 people have been violently murdered in Manabí. In 2020, 121 were victimized. (I)
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
