A 23-year-old Mexican beauty influencer was shot and killed during a TikTok livestream on Tuesday, a brazen killing authorities say they’re investigating as a femicide.
Valeria Marquez, who had built a large online following with beauty tutorials and lifestyle content, was livestreaming from her salon in Zapopan, in the western state of Jalisco, when she was fatally shot by a man who entered the business.
The gunman has not been identified, according to a statement from the Jalisco state prosecutor’s office.
Seconds before the attack, Ms. Marquez can be seen clutching a stuffed animal and joking with her viewers.
“They’re coming,” she says, before someone off-camera calls out, “Hey, Vale?”
Ms. Marquez replies, “Yes,” and then mutes the stream. Moments later, she is fatally shot.
The stream continued briefly until an unidentified person picked up her phone, momentarily revealing the face of another woman before the video cut out.
Authorities have not confirmed whether the attacker knew Ms. Marquez personally. No motive has been announced.
Ms. Marquez boasted nearly 200,000 followers on TikTok and Instagram combined.
Her death comes amid rising concerns over gender-based violence in Mexico, which the United Nations ranks among the worst in Latin America and the Caribbean for femicide.
Femicide is a gender-based crime that, under Mexican law, involves factors such as sexual abuse, public humiliation or a personal relationship with the perpetrator.
The country recorded 1.3 femicides per 100,000 women in 2023 — the fourth-highest rate in the region, tied with Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia.
Jalisco ranks sixth in overall homicides among Mexico’s 32 federal entities, with 906 recorded since President Claudia Sheinbaum took office in October, according to data from TResearch.
