Student shot with firearm at school in northern Guayaquil during break
A teenager was injured in the legs by gunshot fired by a schoolmate at a school in the Pancho Jácome cooperative, Guayaquil. The injured student is stable and the weapon was found in a school bathroom.
Shooting at Guayaquil school leaves teenager injured during break
A student aged approximately 13 or 14 years old was struck by bullets in the legs during the break period on 15 September at a school located in the Pancho Jácome cooperative, north of Guayaquil, according to laprensa.com.ec. The injured teenager received medical attention and his condition was reported as stable and out of danger.
The incident occurred within the perimeter of the Florida police district. According to police account, another teenager—of similar age—allegedly brought the firearm into the school and concealed it in one of the institution's bathrooms before the shot was fired.
Paúl Melo, head of operations for the Florida police district, confirmed that the affected teenager received impacts in his legs. Following the alert, officers cordoned off the institution, conducted a search of the facilities and located the weapon in one of the school bathrooms.
The student identified as having brought the weapon into the school was placed at the disposal of the competent authorities. As they are minors, their identities were not disclosed. According to the information provided regarding the procedure, the teenager involved received socio-educational measures and subsequently continued attending school. The injured student, by contrast, is recovering away from the institution.
The available information does not establish who the owner of the weapon would be or how it arrived at the educational establishment. That aspect forms part of the questions that must be clarified during the investigations.
The incident generated concern among mothers in the sector, who questioned the conditions that allowed a firearm to enter an educational institution. One of them publicly asked: "Whose gun is it?" Another noted that some students might bring in objects of this type to impress their classmates, although this assessment corresponds to a citizen's statement and does not by itself establish the motive for the weapon's entry.
Melo stressed that the episode reveals a security problem that transcends the scope of school drug trafficking: "We see that violence is not only about carrying or dealing drugs, it is a much larger sign."
The school is located within the Florida district, an area where police conduct operations under the so-called Shield Plan. This strategy includes controls around educational establishments to prevent situations related to street-level drug dealing, carrying weapons and recruitment of teenagers by criminal organisations. According to police data, approximately 250 interventions have been carried out in the surroundings of approximately 140 schools in the Florida district, which has led to arrests, seizure of weapons and confiscation of controlled substances.
The case occurs in a context of growing concern about violence affecting teenagers in Ecuador. During the first quarter of 2026, more than half of teenage homicides recorded in a context of violence occurred in Guayas province, according to data cited by authorities. The available information does not establish that the incident at this school has a direct relationship with any criminal organisation.
The National Police of Ecuador is participating in the investigations and procedures stemming from the incident, in coordination with the competent authorities, who must determine the origin of the weapon and the specific circumstances of its entry into the school.
Source: Google News EC — Guayaquil