Quito, Ecuador CNN  — 

An opposition candidate in Ecuador’s upcoming presidential election, Fernando Villavicencio, was assassinated at a campaign event Wednesday, Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso confirmed on X, formerly Twitter.

Villavicencio was shot dead at a Movimiento Construye political rally at a school north of the capital Quito, campaign team members Cristian Zurita and Rodrigo Figueroa confirmed to CNN.

Villavicencio was gunned down 10 days before the first round of the presidential election was set to take place on August 20.

This is a developing story. More to come.