Video: Mexican influencer shot dead on livestream in brazen daylight attack

A Mexican social media influencer was shot dead while livestreaming outside a restaurant in the northwestern city of Culiacan on Tuesday. The attack unfolded in broad daylight near a busy shopping plaza in Sinaloa state, one of Mexico's most violence-hit regions. Gunfire erupted as the livestream was underway. The broadcast ended moments later. Footage of the shooting quickly spread across social media. TikTok later removed the livestream from its platform.

Police identified the victim as 25-year-old Cesar Gastelum, a TikTok creator with nearly 600,000 followers known for his comedy and lifestyle content. Authorities said Gastelum was livestreaming with two friends outside a fast-food restaurant.

Gastelum and his friends were dressed as food delivery workers as part of a social media challenge. Two helmeted men then arrived on a motorcycle and stopped beside them. Video from the livestream appeared to show the rider pulling out a gun and opening fire directly at Gastelum before speeding away.

ATTACK CAPTURED LIVE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

The livestream was later removed from TikTok, but clips of the attack continued to circulate across social media platforms. Police initially identified the victim as a food delivery worker before later confirming that the deceased was Gastelum.

A security official in Sinaloa confirmed to news agency Reuters that the influencer's death and said authorities had launched a major security operation following the shooting.

Gastelum's killing comes against the backdrop of persistent violence in Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa, where rival organised crime factions have been battling for control in recent years. The city has witnessed repeated outbreaks of violence following internal disputes within the powerful Sinaloa cartel, with shootings, kidnappings and targeted killings becoming increasingly common.

Local media reports say around a dozen influencers, some allegedly linked to criminal groups, have been killed in Sinaloa over the past few years.

In January 2025, a small aircraft dropped leaflets over Culiacan threatening nearly 20 artists and YouTubers over alleged links to one faction of the Sinaloa cartel.

SECOND HIGH-PROFILE LIVESTREAM KILLING

Gastelum's death also echoes the killing of Mexican influencer Valeria Marquez, who was shot during a TikTok livestream in May 2025 while working at a beauty salon in Zapopan, Jalisco. Marquez, 23, was killed after a gunman entered the salon and opened fire.

Authorities announced in July the arrest of Ramon Angel Alvarez Ayala, also known as "El R-1", whom Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch identified as the leader of a criminal cell linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

Investigators have linked Alvarez Ayala to Marquez's killing and accused him of ordering and financing the November 2025 murder of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo.

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With inputs from agencies