QUITO, Dec 29, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Multiple gunmen killed six people on Sunday, including a two-year-old girl, after shooting up a beachside boardwalk in southwestern Ecuador, police said.

Three others were wounded in the attack in popular whale-watching destination Puerto Lopez, after men in a van and on two motorcycles opened fire on the boardwalk before fleeing.

It was the third deadly attack in the city this weekend, with a total death toll of nine, local media reports said.

The whereabouts of the shooters were unknown, with initial reports pointing to a motive of an internal dispute between criminal groups, police said in a statement.

Ecuador is located between the world's two top exporters of cocaine, Colombia and Peru, and has seen a surge in violence by gangs linked to Mexican and Colombian cartels.

Hardline policies instituted by its President Daniel Noboa have done little to stem the tide of violence to date.

Killings and clashes in neighborhoods and public spaces are commonplace, and the country is on track to end the year with a record rate of 52 homicides per 100,000 residents, according to the Geneva-based Organized Crime Observatory.