A TikTok influencer was shot dead during a live broadcast in Mexico

Mexican influencer César Gastelum was shot dead on Tuesday during a live broadcast with friends near a fast-food restaurant in the northwestern city of Culiacán, local authorities said, UNN reports, citing Reuters.

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Gastelum, who had nearly 600,000 followers on TikTok and was known for his comedy videos, was broadcasting live near a fast-food restaurant when two people on a motorcycle, both wearing helmets, approached him and his friends. In footage of the live broadcast viewed by Reuters, the motorcycle driver appears to have fired directly at Gastelum. An official from the Sinaloa state security service confirmed Gastelum’s death and said that a large-scale security operation was under way.

The killing occurred amid ongoing violence in Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa, which has become the center of a conflict between rival organized crime groups fighting for control.

Additional information

The shooting also recalled the May 2025 killing of Mexican beauty influencer Valeria Márquez, who was shot dead during a TikTok livestream at the salon where she worked in Zapopan, in the western state of Jalisco. Márquez, 23, was killed after a man entered the salon and opened fire, prosecutors said. Her death was investigated under femicide protocols.

In July, Mexican authorities announced the arrest in Jalisco of Ramón Ángel Álvarez Ayala, known as "El R-1," whom Security Minister Omar García Harfuch identified as the leader of a criminal group linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). Authorities linked Álvarez Ayala to Márquez’s killing and accused him of ordering and financing the assassination of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo in November 2025.