In brief
César Gastélum, a TikTok star with more than 500,000 followers, was murdered on a Tuesday evening while live-streaming outside a fast‑food restaurant in Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa. Two men on a motorbike approached and fatally shot him at close range, after mistakenly believing he was a delivery driver. The killing follows a pattern of deaths among Mexican influencers during live broadcasts, including the 2025 murder of Valeria Márquez. Authorities have secured the scene, gathered cartridge casings, and reviewed CCTV footage, but no arrests have been made and the shooters fled on a motorbike. The incident is viewed in the context of a decade‑long feud between factions of the Sinaloa cartel, which has escalated violence across the state, and raises concerns about the safety of social media creators in conflict zones.
César Gastélum, a Mexican influencer with more than 500,000 followers on TikTok, was shot dead while livestreaming on an unspecified platform on Tuesday evening.
The tragedy unfolded outside a fast‑food restaurant in the district of Tres Ríos, Culiacán, when a motorbike rider approached and fired a single shot at close range.
Gastélum and his friends were wearing bright orange coats and bags commonly used by delivery drivers; police initially believed he was a delivery person before his identity was confirmed.
This is not the first influencer killed in Mexico during a live‑stream: last year 23‑year‑old Valeria Márquez was shot dead while broadcasting on TikTok.
Investigators have cordoned the area, collected cartridge casings, and reviewed CCTV footage; the two motorbike riders fled the scene and no arrests have been made yet.
It is still unclear whether Gastélum had received threats beforehand.
The incident occurs amid escalating violence in Sinaloa, where factions of the Sinaloa cartel have clashed since September 2024, and is linked to the murder of the “El Gordo Peruci” influencer, who was slain in December 2024.
A correction has been noted: Gastélum was livestreaming on an unspecified social media platform, not TikTok as originally reported.
