A presidential candidate in Ecuador was shot dead Wednesday at a campaign event in the countryâs capital of Quito, the countryâs current leader confirmed. Fernando Villavicencio, a former member of Ecuadorâs national assembly who was polling at roughly 7.5%, was stepping into his car when a man stepped forward from the crowd and shot him in the head, local reports said. Videos on social media from the scene show chaos as attendees scream and run for cover. The motive remains unclear, though Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso suggested the killing was connected to organized crime and vowed to avenge his death. âFor his memory and his fight, I assure you that this crime will not remain unpunished,â Lasso wrote on Twitter. âOrganized crime has gone very far, but all the weight of the law will fall on them.â
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