Ecuador presidential candidate shot at election rally
Fernando Villavicencio, a member of the country's National Assembly, was attacked Wednesday as he left the event in the northern city of Quito. A member of his campaign team told local media that Villavicencio was getting into a car when a man stepped forward and shot him in the head. Current president Guillermo Lasso has vowed that "the crime will not go unpunished", reports the BBC.
Witnesses said the 59-year-old man was shot three times.
The suspect died in a shootout and nine other people were wounded, the country's attorney general said on social media.
The first round of the presidential election is scheduled to take place on 20 August.
Fernando Villavicencio's murder followed those of Agustín Intriago, mayor of Manta, in July and Omar Menéndez, a candidate for mayor of Puerto López, in February.
