This is the horror moment Ecuador international footballer Mario Pineida is shot dead alongside his companion at a butcher’s where he went to buy meat for a Christmas meal.

The 33-year-old, who played for his country nine times between 2014 and 2021, could be seen putting his hands up in the air before one of the two assassins started firing at him from close range.

The other, who had a motorcycle helmet on to cover his face, targeted the woman with Pineida who was initially thought to be his wife Ana Aguilar before it emerged the victim was 39-year-old Peruvian Guisella Fernandez. She has been described locally as his new partner.

The footballer’s mum was also hurt but not seriously.

The double murder occurred around 4pm local time on Wednesday outside a butcher’s in the north of the Ecuadorian port city of Guayaquil.

Pineida, a full-back for Ecuador’s Serie A side Barcelona Sporting Club whose previous teams have included Brazilian top-flight team Fluminense where he played on loan in 2022, drove the two women to the shop to buy a pork shank for a family Christmas meal.

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This is the shocking moment former footballer Mario Pineida was shot down in Ecuador

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Police and army surround the butcher’s shop where Mario Pineida was killed on Wednesday

The footage of the killings appeared to point to them being targeted assassinations with the assailants clearly laying in wait for their victims.

Both continued to be shot while they were on the ground after receiving the first bullets.

Pineida’s wife was initially wrongly identified as the female victim before she issued a statement on social media saying: ‘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.

Businesswoman Guisella Fernandez had lived in Ecuador for several years and had links to three firms including a mobile phone business said to have accumulated debts.

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The double murder occurred around 4pm local time on Wednesday. His new partner was also shot

Her mum was among 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.’

Last night the net began to close on the killers as 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 teammates were among those who attended Mario Pineida’s wake yesterday. His funeral is due to take place later today as the investigation to identify and capture the second killer still at large continues.

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Mario Pineida represented the South American nation on five occasions during his career

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 Organized Crime.

Fluminense Football Club said in a statement: ‘Fluminense Football Club received with deep sorrow the news of the passing of Mario Pineida, an athlete who defended the club in 2022.’

His club in Ecuador said: ‘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.’