The custom of sharing a pleasant moment among their neighbors, discussing the main sports or political news and even watching a soccer game of their favorite team taking advantage of the television in the neighborhood store, are part of the customs that used to be practiced frequently among Several of the customers of a store in Pradera 2, on Av. 10B, in the south of Guayaquil.
“We’re already staying, it’s scary,” says a neighbor who cautiously and alertly approaches the establishment to buy a few products and return home. Leonardo Portilla perceives a similar situation, a resident who has been in the area for 45 years, who yearns for the tranquility that existed to share in the space.
Currently, in that area, like others in the city, there is concern and fear about the recent events caused by crime that now also stalks customers who come to neighborhood stores.
Several cases of assaults on users of this kind of business have been recorded on videos in recent days in that sector of Pradera 2, in the south, in addition to La Garzota and El Limonal, in the north.
Last Friday, March 4, around 4:00 p.m., two individuals dressed in clothing similar to that used by factory workers came to rob a group of workers from a company that was sharing drinks outside a store in the Prairie 2.
Their belongings and other items were taken after finishing their day at a company located a few meters away. In the middle of their flight, one of the antisocials fired at the group, but luckily the shot hit a curb.
“We have quite a few neighbors who get together, but people are already taking precautions, a motorcycle passes by and one is already cautious and gets their act together,” says the owner of the business, Luis Álava, who assures that on previous occasions they have also been close to suffering. robberies In recent days, two other nearby dining rooms also suffered robberies.
The same antisocials assaulted three construction foremen who were leaving construction work after their work day on Tuesday, March 1, in the middle of the carnival holiday.
Neighbors indicated that police officers told them that they have already identified the antisocials who also carry out robberies in Urbasur, Tulipanes, Floresta, Pradera 3. Even the neighbors say that the antisocials wear workers’ suits of different colors.
Entering houses and urbanizations to assassinate shows another dimension of violence in Guayaquil
Fabián Colina, a resident of the area and owner of a business in Pradera 3, in front of the affected pharmacy in Pradera 2, says he feels annoyed and frustrated with the situation of robberies that have become more frequent in the area, among those the robbery to the customers of the store.
Above all, he says that these cases are concentrated between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., so he asks that the Police operations that are usually carried out on the roads in that area now focus on those critical times and try to avoid the activation of the lights of the police vehicles, since according to him that already warns the criminal that he should not pass through that area.
In a store in the El Limonal sector, Juan Carlos Chancay, owner of the business, says that in the face of criminal cases that are evident in various sectors, he tries to quickly serve known customers who come to the premises and advises those who stay to have a drink to leave. soon both for their safety and yours.
Likewise, clients, like Selenia Toala, try to attend without valuables and do so in the shortest time possible.
Precisely, in a store dedicated to the sale of alcoholic beverages, on the main road in that sector, adjacent to the Narcisa de Jesús highway, two individuals, dressed in t-shirts, arrived on foot and assaulted a young man who was buying . The incident was recorded on security camera video. Last Sunday the 6th, at noon, a patrol car toured the interior roads and the main street of the sector.
In recent days, another case was also reported in recent days in a store on Av. Brother Miguel, in Garzota 1, in front of an educational establishment.
Similarly, two young men dressed in shirts and t-shirts, jeans and sports shoes, intimidated him at the foot of the business and took several belongings. A worker in the area said that the situation also affects the arrival of customers to nearby businesses and in the case of these criminals, their appearance in the first instance did not raise suspicions.
Last weekend, the Police highlighted the figures achieved within the 106,468 operations carried out so far this year in Guayaquil and its neighboring Durán and Samborondón cantons.
General Víctor Zárate, commander of Zone 8 of the National Police, highlighted among the most outstanding figures 1,084 detainees, 335 weapons seized (34 long weapons), 191 vehicles recovered, 5,540 white weapons seized, 134 motorcycles recovered. In addition, he highlighted that a total of 40 gangs have been dismantled and 5,926 retained by municipal ordinance of two people on motorcycles.
According to figures from the Ministry of Government, in 2021, 7,337 assaults on people were reported in Guayaquil, while in 2020, the year with greater confinement restrictions in the pandemic, there were 5,807. In January 2022 alone, 715 cases were already counted.
For the most part, the cases are usually presented, according to statistical records, between 12:00 and 18:00. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
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.
