The attack was carried out in the city of Santo Domingo, about 15 miles from the capital Quito, the country's police authority announced on Sunday. Images from a surveillance camera show how several perpetrators, with faces covered by masks, open fire on two guards at the billiard hall. The authenticity of the images has not been fully confirmed.
Well inside the premises, the perpetrators continued to shoot, but fled the scene before the police arrived.
A similar fatal shooting has recently occurred at a billiard hall in the tourist town of General Villamil Playas in July. Nine people were killed in the attack.
Ecuador is in free fall in a crisis that is directly related to the increasing presence of drug cartels in the country - including the use of the country's ports for smuggling narcotics. In addition, increased efforts in Colombia against drug cartels have meant that criminal activity has sought its way to the neighboring country.
The number of people murdered in Ecuador has risen drastically: from six murders per 100,000 inhabitants in 2018 to 38 per 100,000 inhabitants last year in the country that was previously seen as a peaceful and politically stable model in Latin America.
