A FORMER Ecuador footballer was horrifically shot dead at a butcher’s as harrowing footage of the murder emerged.
Mario Pineida, his mum and a friend went to the shop to buy meat for a Christmas meal.
However, they were ambushed by two men who pulled out guns.
Despite Pineida putting his hands in the air, one of the assassins wearing a cap fired at him from close range in shocking and disturbing scenes.
The other criminal, in a motorcycle helmet, targeted a woman who was also killed.
The footballer’s mum was also hurt but not seriously.
Full-back Pineida, 33, drove the two women to the shop to buy a pork shank for their family Christmas meal.
It appears the assailants were waiting for their victims.
Both Pineida – who was capped nine times between 2014 and 2021 for his country – and the woman continued to be shot on the ground.
The double murder occurred around 4pm local time on Wednesday outside the butcher’s in the north of the Ecuadorian port city of Guayaquil.
Pineida’s wife Ana Aguilar was initially wrongly identified as the female victim.
However, she issued a statement on social media and said: “In response to comments and images suggesting that Mario Pineida’s wife was also murdered, I respectfully and emphatically clarify that this information is completely false.
“I am his wife, Ana Aguilar, mother of his three children, and I am alive and well.
“We deeply regret the passing of my husband, Mario Pineida, an event that fills us with grief as a family.
“At this difficult time, we ask for respect for our mourning, for my integrity and especially for that of our children, who are also being affected by the situation and this great loss.”
The footballer’s wife is said to have gone to the murder scene and identified him as the dead man after receiving a call from a relative about the gun attack.
She has already been questioned by investigators and said she wasn’t aware he had any enemies, although police are believed to be focusing on the theory he or the woman killed had been receiving threats.
It is understood the woman had lived in Ecuador for several years and had links to three firms including a mobile phone business said to have accumulated debts.
Her mum was among the mourners at her wake yesterday, telling waiting reporters: “My daughter didn’t have any enemies.
“All I know is that everything done here is paid for. Let justice be done.”
On Thursday night, police announced they had arrested one of the suspects.
A City Hall-controlled company monitoring CCTV cameras in the area around the murder scene said: “Raids have taken place and a suspect held following the violent death of a football player in the north of the city.
“The operation was possible by technical monitoring using the video surveillance system, which enabled us to detect the motorbikes used in the crime, and subsequently locate one of the men allegedly involved.”
Several current and former team-mates were among those who attended Pineida’s wake on Thursday.
His funeral is due to take place later on Friday as the investigation to identify and capture the second killer still at large continues.
Pineida is the fifth footballer killed already so far this year in Ecuador, which is expected to have its most violent year on record with more than 9,000 homicides according to the Ecuadorian Observatory of Organised Crime.
He was with Ecuador’s Serie A side Barcelona Sporting Club and previously played on loan with Brazilian giants Fluminense in 2022.
His club in Ecuador added: “Barcelona Sporting Club informs, with deep regret, that it has been officially notified of the death of our player Mario Pineida, a fact that occurred after an attack against him.
“This unfortunate news makes all of us who are part of the institution deeply dismayed.”
