2 killed as hitmen attack an ambulance at Jama entry in Manabí, Ecuador

An ambulance driver and a doctor from the Ministry of Public Health (MSP) were shot dead on the night of Monday, September 14, 2026, at the entrance to the canton of Jama in the province of Manabí.

The attack took place around 7:00 p.m. According to the National Police, who confirmed the information to Primicias, the gunmen took advantage of a dark stretch of road to intercept the medical vehicle and open fire on its occupants.

The victims were returning from the Miguel H. Alcívar Hospital in Bahía de Caráquez (Sucre canton), where they had dropped off a patient injured in a traffic accident. The bodies of the driver and the doctor were found inside the Ministry of Health ambulance, which was riddled with bullet holes.

Manabí is one of the provinces hardest hit by criminal violence in Ecuador. In 2025 it recorded more than 1,200 homicides—its most violent year on record—and massacres and other criminal attacks have continued into 2026. The province, along with three others, is due to implement a curfew in the coming days.

The National Police are investigating the killings.