Twenty-three-year-old Mexican social media influencer, Valeria Marquez, has been shot dead while on a TikTok livestream at the beauty salon where she worked in Zapopan, Jalisco.
In the moments before the shooting, Marquez was seen on camera holding a stuffed toy. She said, “They’re coming,” before a voice in the background asked, “Hey, Vale?” She replied, “Yes,” and then muted the livestream.
Shortly after, she was shot. Reuters reports that a person appeared to pick up her phone, and their face was briefly visible before the video ended.
The Jalisco state prosecutor said in a statement on Tuesday evening that the killing is being investigated under femicide protocols.
These protocols apply when a woman is killed for reasons linked to her gender and can involve degrading violence, sexual abuse, a relationship between the victim and the suspect, or public exposure of the body.
No suspect has been named by the authorities.
Earlier in the livestream, Marquez mentioned that someone had come to the salon with an “expensive gift” when she was not there. She said she did not plan to wait for the person to return.
Marquez had close to 200,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram, where she shared content related to beauty and makeup.
According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Mexico is among the countries with the highest rate of femicide in the region, with 1.3 deaths per 100,000 women in 2023.
Data from consultancy group TResearch ranks Jalisco sixth among Mexico’s 32 states, including Mexico City, for homicides, with 906 reported cases since President Claudia Sheinbaum took office in October 2024.
