On the evening of 2 June 2024, unidentified gunmen targeted a local politician attending a circus in the coastal city of Manta, Manabí province, located approximately 190 km (120 mi) northwest of Guayaquil, Guayas province. The assailants fatally shot the politician and his wife and injured two others before fleeing the scene in a vehicle, which authorities later found burned out in a nearby residential area. The motive for the shooting is under investigation.