Alfredo Pacheco, a defender on El Salvador's national soccer team from 2005-2013, was shot dead at a gas station in the city of Santa Ana on Sunday. The unknown attackers opened fire on Pacheco and his friends from a vehicle, killing him and injuring two others.
The motive for the attack is being investigated, the BBC reported.
Pacheco, 33, was the El Salvador national team's most capped player. He played for one of the country's biggest teams, Club Deportivo FAS, becoming club captain in 2005. He also played for the A.D. Isidro Metapán club, as well as briefly playing for the New York Red Bulls in 2009, according to the Guardian.
He was then banned for life from the sport in 2013 by the Salvadorian Football Federation when it was found that he had been involved in match fixing, according to the Independent. This decision was ratified by FIFA. Along with 13 other players, Pacheco had been found guilty of receiving bribes to lose several matches.
The murder rate in El Salvador has spiked dramatically through 2015, with homicides at a 55 percent increase, according to InSight Crime. This is the country's highest murder rate since the 12-year Salvadoran Civil War that ended in 1992.
