The mayor of the Ecuadorian city of Manta was killed. The mayor was 38 years old.

Police said Intriago, 38, who was re-elected mayor of Manta in February, was inspecting public works in the city at the time of the attack.

One video broadcast on social media, local police chief Alex Salgado told reporters that an unspecified number of bullets were fired at Intriago and that a woman also died in the attack. The woman is described as a “victim accompaniment”.

The municipal administration of Manta announced on its Twitter account that Intriago was mortally wounded, according to News.ro.

Police said on Twitter that officers found a truck with a grenade inside and a gun nearby that investigators believe could have been used in the attack.

Interior Minister Juan Zapata said four other people were injured. According to him, two of them are suspected of committing a crime.

It’s unclear why the mayor was attacked, although Ecuador has seen an increase in violent crime, which the government says is fueled by a power struggle between drug gangs.

Manta, a city of over 200,000 people, has been a breeding ground for such gangs, and widespread communal crime, fueled by economic and social problems, is exacerbating the country’s security problems.

President Guillermo Lasso deplored the “murder” of Intriago in a tweet and said he had ordered the authorities to bring the killers to justice.

Intriago was part of a local political party in Manta.