An influencer in social media was shot dead as it was a live flow on Tiktok in her beauty salon in central Mexico, state authorities announced on Wednesday.
Valeria Marquez, 23, was seen by looking at someone outside the camera, still long lived on Tiktok, responding to a voice in the background asking: “Hey, Vale?”
“Yes,” she said, before triggering the sound on live broadcasting.
In a few seconds, she seemed to be shot in the abdomen and her head before collapsing.
The violent murder of popular influencer in the city of Zapopan shocked Mexico and the online community. Marquez had more than 200,000 subscribers on Tiktok.
What did the authorities say?
“The victim is a person with an active presence and an influence on social networks,” the prosecutor’s office said in a press release. “A man entered the premises and apparently pulled a weapon over her,” he added.
The local media reported that the shooter pretended to give him a gift.
The reason for the crime was not immediately known.
The beauty salon in Zapopan is next to the main city of Guadalajara in the central state of Jalisco – a home of criminal activity and housing one of the most violent drug trafficking groups in Mexico, the New Generation Cartel of Jalisco.
However, state security coordinator Roberto Alarcon told journalists that investigators had found no evidence that a criminal group was behind the shooting.
His murder is currently the subject of an investigation as femicide, which is the murder of a woman for gender -related reasons.
The mayor of Zapopan, Juan Jose FRANGIE, said that his office had no trace of the model asking for the authorities for the threats of criminal gangs. “It’s incredible that you make a video, then you are murdered. A femicide is the worst thing,” said Francie.
Femicid problem of Mexico
Mexico is tied with Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia as nations with the fourth rate of the highest femicide in the Latin American region, in accordance with the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.
It shows 1.3 such deaths that occurred per 100,000 women in 2023.
In another incident, a former member of the congress, Luis Armando Cordova Diaz, was also shot in a cafe in the region, a few hours after Marquez’s death.
Published by: Wesley Dockery
