Influencer killed in drive-by moments after leaving footballer’s funeral | OneFootball

Social media star Karen Grunauer Franco, 39, was shot dead in a drive-by in Guayaquil moments after leaving the funeral of Ecuador defender Mario Pineida.

According to yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk, a group of armed men opened fire from another vehicle at the car she was travelling in on Saturday, 20 December, killing her at the scene.

Pineida, 33, had been fatally shot in the city on Wednesday, 17 December. He was understood to have been dating a friend of Franco.

Franco was in the passenger seat beside a man when their vehicle was intercepted on 18 de Agosto Avenue. Police arrived soon after and found her with gunshot wounds and no vital signs.

Her companion drove to a nearby police station and was later hospitalised in a stable condition.

Police are investigating possible links between the two shootings. No arrests have been announced and inquiries continue.

Pineida was attacked outside a shop in the north of the city by two people on motorbikes, with his mother and another woman also hit.

Pineida won nine caps for Ecuador between 2014 and 2021. He began at Independiente del Valle and joined Barcelona SC in 2016, with loans at Fluminense and El Nacional. The club said at the time it had been officially notified of his death after an attack and that the news deeply saddened those at Barcelona.

Source: yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk