TikTok Influencer Shot and Killed During Live Stream in Mexico

A Mexican social media influencer was killed in a shocking attack while livestreaming from a beauty salon in Jalisco, a region notorious for rampant cartel violence. Prosecutors confirmed that 23-year-old Valeria Márquez, a prominent model and online personality with over 113,000 TikTok followers, was targeted in a brazen murder described as a femicide—a gender-based crime under Mexican law.

Márquez was broadcasting live to her audience when a masked gunman entered the salon and shot her in the head and chest. She collapsed in full view of her viewers. Witnesses reported seeing the attacker flee the scene on a motorcycle, accompanied by another individual. Local authorities believe the killers were hired assassins, part of a growing pattern of cartel-related violence in the area.

*Moments before the shooting, Márquez expressed unease about two unidentified men who had come into the salon earlier, purportedly to deliver an expensive gift. She confided her suspicions in her followers, saying, "Maybe they were going to kill me. Were they going to come and take me away, or what? I’m worried."* Minutes after making these remarks, the men returned, asked for her by name, and, according to witnesses, carried out the attack. The livestream abruptly ended after the fatal shots rang out, with someone picking up her phone and briefly appearing on camera.

Denis Rodríguez, spokesperson for the Jalisco State Prosecutor’s Office, stated:

• Investigators suspect the gunmen did not know Márquez personally but were paid to carry out the hit.
• The targeted nature of the question—asking directly for Márquez—led officials to deduce the attackers’ intent was clear and premeditated.

At the time of her death, Márquez had just received a stuffed animal and a bag of Starbucks coffee during her stream, moments before the violence erupted. Jalisco is home to the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel, and contract killings involving 'sicarios'—motorcycle-riding hitmen—are a frequent occurrence in the region.

Authorities are also investigating possible links between Márquez’s murder and the killing of a former congressman earlier that day in Guadalajara, which followed a similar pattern: two men on a motorcycle carrying out the attack.

The incident sparked widespread shock and grief across Mexico, a nation grappling with high rates of violence against women. President Claudia Sheinbaum extended condolences to Márquez’s family, vowing that her administration's security cabinet is actively cooperating with prosecutors to resolve the case.
*"We are working to find those responsible and determine the motive behind this situation. Our solidarity goes out to her family,"* Sheinbaum said.

Friends and relatives gathered for Márquez’s funeral on Thursday, mourning a young woman whose life was cut short amid a backdrop of escalating violence.

Jalisco currently ranks sixth among Mexico’s 32 states for homicides, with 909 recorded since October 2024, data from TResearch shows.