Ecuador gunmen survive grenade explosion near vehicle

Shocking moment grenade explodes near getaway vehicle almost killing five gunmen after they opened fire on home in Ecuador

  • Surveillance camera recorded a grenade exploding near a car in Ecuador on Saturday night
  • The incident took place moments after five gunmen opened fire at a home in the town of La Concordia
  • A police official said they have not received any reports of injuries or deaths after searching area medical facilities  

This is the shocking moment gunmen open fire on a home in Ecuador and nearly kill themselves when one of the squad members forgot to toss the grenade after pulling the pin. 

Footage of the incident shows five men aiming their weapons at the residence in the city of La Concordia on Saturday night.

One of the gunmen could be heard saying, ‘Fire at it,’ as a hail of bullets was unleashed.

However, the group is then seen running back to their getaway vehicle after they appear to have been spotted by someone. A group member shouted, ‘go, go, go,’ before the driver sped down the street.

Nearly 12 seconds elapse when the explosion flashes on the screen and shakes the home more than 1,600 feet away. 

Gunmen unleash a hail of bullets on a home in the Ecuadorian city of La Concordia on Saturday night. During their escape a grenade exploded near their vehicle

A grenade explodes near the getaway vehicle of a group of men who had opened fire on a home in La Concordia, Ecuador, on Saturday night

It has not been revealed what led to the gunmen shooting at the house. 

In the hours following the explosion, local media outlets initially reported that four suspects died and two others were seriously injured after the grenade went off inside the car.

Gustavo Jávita, a high-ranking law enforcement official with the La Concordia police, refuted the claims in an interview with El Universo on Monday.

‘There are small health centers in La Concordia. We investigated out if there were injuries from this event, but we did not have results,’ he said.

Jávita added cops also visited medical facilities in other towns in the province of Santo Domingo and there were no reports of injured people. 

He also said authorities did not receive any reports from the owners of the property.

It has not been revealed what led to the gunmen shooting at the house.

During the shooting, one of the gunmen apparently pulled the pin on a grenade but didn’t throw it

The five suspects were spotted running to their escape vehicle after they fired their weapons on the home 

The gunmen sped away from the area and were more than 1,600 feet away when the grenade exploded 

The grenade blast was the latest in a string of violent events that have plagued Ecuador as gangs linked to Mexican cartels battle for control of the country’s penitentiary system and lucrative drug trafficking routes.

Last Friday, 57 police officers and guards were released by inmates who held them hostage for more than a day at six prisons.

The kidnappings came on the heel of a government operation that targeted prisons, were weapons and other contraband was confiscated earlier in the week.

The gangs are said to have responded by setting out four car bombs and three explosives during a span of 48 hours in different parts of Ecuador. 

The National Police reported that dynamite was placed early Friday on bridge connecting two towns in the coastal province of El Oro.

A car bomb shook the Women’s and Human Rights Ministry late Wednesday in the capital Quito. A second blast outside the prison ministry’s building rocked the city early on Thursday. 

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