Horrifying moment TikTok influencer Valeria Márquez, 23, is shot dead by motorbike-riding gunman while live streaming to her followers at beauty salon

Daily Mail​

14-05-2025

A Mexican beauty influencer was brutally murdered yesterday while live streaming to her followers after a motorbike-riding gunman opened fire on her salon.
Footage shows the horrific moment 23-year-old TikToker and aesthetician Valeria Marquez was shot multiple times while broadcasting live from inside her beauty salon, Blossom the Beauty Lounge, in the western Mexican state of Jalisco.
The video shows a smiley Valeria looking out the window momentarily before a bullet strikes her once in the chest and twice in the head.
The influencer appears to place a hand over the gunshot wound near her ribcage before dropping dead.
An unknown woman then appears in the clip, seemingly turning off the video.
Initial reports say that a gunman entered her salon and shot her before fleeing on a motorbike.
Paramedics rushed to the bloody scene, but Valeria was pronounced dead immediately.
Police are currently investigating Valeria's murder and have cordoned off the salon, while a manhunt is underway.
The influencer was known for sharing beauty and lifestyle videos with her 110,000 TikTok followers.
An autopsy on the beauty guru's body will be performed in the coming hours, Infobae reported.
A statement from the prosecutor's office said: 'According to the initial investigation, she was in her establishment when a man entered and apparently shot her several times with a firearm, killing her.'
Valeria's senseless killing is just another example of the violence against women endemic Mexico is grappling with.
Mexico has long been plagued by 'machismo' and violence against women, which can range from comments on the street to, in its most extreme form, acid attacks and brutal slayings of women.
The horrific murder also comes days after Mexican mayoral candidate was tragically shot dead alongside three of her supporters including her daughter during a live broadcast of her campaign rally.
Yesenia Lara Gutierrez, representing Mexico's ruling Morena party, was gunned down in the eastern Mexican state of Veracruz on Sunday night as she greeted residents in the streets of Texistepec.
The horrifying incident was captured on a Facebook livestream, showing people running and screaming as gunshots rang out off camera. Mexican newspaper Reforma reported that the candidate was greeting 'women with children in their arms' when the gunfire began.
Footage posted online depicted the chaos, with at least 20 shots head in the clip that was still available on Gutierrez's Facebook page the following day. Other images shared online appeared to show bodies in the street.
Veracruz Governor Rocio Nahle, also of the Morena party of President Claudia Sheinbaum, said Monday that Gutierrez's daughter was among those killed by gunmen.
'No office or position is worth a person's life,' Nahle said in a press conference Monday, where she promised justice.
Gutierrez had posted several images on Facebook, showing her campaigning throughout the region. 'The strength of our youth is the vitality that motivates me to keep walking day by day,' she wrote just hours before the shooting.
This marks the second killing of a mayoral candidate in Veracruz during the current election cycle, following the April 29 murder of German Anuar Valencia, also from Morena.
Nahle condemned the violence, labeling it an act of terrorism, and vowed to ensure security and democracy during the upcoming June 1 elections.
She emphasised that 57 candidates had requested state and federal protection, although it is unclear if Gutierrez had done so.
At a wake Monday in Texistepec, family and friends mourned Gutierrez and spoke about the fear the violence stirred around the election.
'We can't continue with the insecurity, we're tired of all of this, this is terrorism,' said supporter Joaquín Fonseca.
'There are five people dead, not one. We're living the worst of the terrorism.'
President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed the attack on Gutierrez during her morning press conference on Monday, stating that her government is coordinating with Veracruz state officials and offering federal support if necessary.
'We're coordinating, particularly with the Secretary of Security, and with all the support needed during this electoral period from Veracruz and Durango,' she said, referring to the upcoming June 1 elections in the two states.
The state's attorney general's office has launched an investigation into the incident, promising that justice will be served.
The violent attack underscores the dangerous climate surrounding political campaigns in Mexico, where criminal groups often target local candidates to exert influence over municipal governments.