Influencer shot dead minutes after leaving funeral of Ecuador defender Mario Pineida | OneFootball

Social media star Karen Grunauer Franco, 39, was shot dead minutes after leaving the funeral of Ecuador defender Mario Pineida in Guayaquil.

Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Luis Obando López said they are investigating possible links between the two shootings. No arrests have been made and the inquiry is ongoing.

Franco was killed on Saturday, 20 December, when armed men in another vehicle opened fire on the car she was in on 18 de Agosto Avenue. She was in the passenger seat and died instantly.

The driver, a man travelling with her, escaped and drove to a nearby police station. He was later hospitalised and was in a stable condition.

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

He was attacked outside a shop in the north of Guayaquil, where two people on motorbikes opened fire, hitting Pineida, his mother and another woman. He won nine caps for Ecuador between 2014 and 2021 and played for Independiente del Valle and Barcelona SC, with loans at Fluminense and El Nacional.

Franco, who had 2,500 Facebook followers and posted fashion, make-up and lifestyle content, leaves two young children. She was buried in Guayaquil the day after her killing.

Source: yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk