Gunmen in Ecuador kill 8, injure 8 others in attack in coastal city of Guayaquil as violence surges

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuador’s Interior Ministry says armed gunmen have attacked a group of people in the coastal city of Guayaquil, killing eight people and injuring eight others. It was the latest in a string of violent incidents in the South American country. At around 7 p.m. local time on Saturday, armed men arrived in a vehicle in a southern neighborhood. They shot at a group of people, killing two of them. Six others later died in a health center from the “seriousness of the wounds,” the ministry told journalists. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Ecuador was once considered a bastion of peace in Latin America, but in recent years has seen a surge in violent attacks.