Mexican beauty influencer Valeria Marquez was shot dead while livestreaming from her beauty salon in a Guadalajara suburb. Marquez was only 23 and followed by almost 200,000 people on TikTok and Instagram.She was chatting with viewers when a man entered carrying what he said was a gift. Seconds later, two shots rang out. .Marquez was hit in the head and chest and slumped in her chair as the camera kept rolling. The gunman fled on a motorcycle and has not been caught. Prosecutors say the killing is being investigated as femicide, Mexico’s legal term for a gender-based murder. While authorities have not discussed a motive, security analysts note that Zapopan lies inside territory controlled by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of the country’s most violent gangs, and warn that influencers with rising profiles can become targets for extortion or intimidation. .Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum condemned the attack, pledging federal support for the probe and promising to “break the cycle of impunity” that fuels such crimes. News of Marquez’s death stunned Mexico’s online community. Fans flooded her now disabled TikTok account with messages of grief, while women’s groups renewed calls for stronger protection against gender violence. The United Nations estimates that 10 women are killed every day in Mexico. .Tuesday’s shooting was the eighth suspected femicide reported in Jalisco this month and came just hours before a former federal congressman was gunned down in the same metropolitan area. Rights advocates say the twin killings underscore how routine gun violence has become in a state where rival cartels battle for territory. Police are urging anyone with information on the shooter to come forward as the investigation continues.
