Ecuador’s 200m world championships bronze medallist Alex Quinonez was shot dead in the port city of Guayaquil, authorities announced on Saturday night.

Quinonez, 32, and another person were found dead close to midnight local time on Friday, according to local police.

“With great sadness, we confirm the murder of our sportsman Alex Quinonez,” the country’s Sports Ministry announced on Twitter.

“We have lost a great sportsman, someone who allowed us to dream, who moved us… he was the greatest sprinter this country produced.”

Roberto Ibanez, president of the Guayas Sports Federation, tweeted: “My heart is totally shattered, I can’t find words to describe the emptiness I feel.

“I can not believe it, until when are we going to continue living so much evil and insecurity!

“Rest in peace dear Alex, I will miss you all my life.”

Quinonez — who was suspended prior to the Tokyo Olympics due to a “breach of his whereabouts obligations” in regards to standardised anti-doping practices — was also hailed by Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso.

“We offer our sincerest condolences to his family,” he tweeted. “May he rest in peace. Those who take the lives of Ecuadoreans will not remain unpunished.

“We will act with force.”

Ecuador’s Olympic Committee said the death of Quinonez “leaves us with profound pain” and that his “legacy will forever stay in our hearts”.

He became a national hero in 2012 when he reached the 200m final at the London Olympics

Local newspaper El Universo reported that security footage of the incident shows a white car stop next to a group of people before two men emerge from the vehicle and start shooting into the group.

The Daily Mirror described the killings as an “assassination”.

Violence has been spiking dramatically in Ecuador in recent months. Between January and October this year, the country registered almost 1,900 homicides, compared to about 1,400 in all of 2020, according to the government.

Lasso on Monday declared a state of emergency in the country grappling with a surge in drug-related violence, and ordered the mobilisation of police and military in the streets.