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Mexican social media influencer Cesar Gastelum was shot dead while livestreaming on TikTok.
Gastelum was livestreaming with two friends outside a restaurant in Tres Rios, a resort located in the city of Culiacan, on Tuesday night when two men on a motorcycle drove up and shot him at close range, BBC reported. The two suspects then fled.
During the livestream, Gastelum and his pals wore bright orange coats and carried bags that are typically associated with delivery drivers. Police originally believed the shooting victim was a delivery driver due to the outfits, local media reported. However, authorities were later notified of Gastelum’s identity.
The shooting scene was taped off as police and forensic personnel investigated, examining cartridge casings and reviewing CCTV footage for clues.
It’s unknown whether Gastelum received any threats, and no suspects have been arrested so far, the BBC reported.
Victim known for comedy videos
Gastelum had nearly 600,000 followers on TikTok and was known for his comedy videos, CNN reported.
The man’s killing comes amid constant violence in Culiacan, which has been at the centre of conflict between rival organized crime factions.
Tuesday’s incident wasn’t the first time a social media influencer was killed in Mexico.
In 2025, Valeria Marquez, 23, was shot dead while livestreaming on TikTok in the beauty salon where she worked in Zapopan. A man had entered the salon and opened fire. Drug lord Alvarez Ayala is accused of ordering the hit after she broke up with his son, Francisco Alvarez.
“He (Alvarez) had threatened her on several occasions and everything indicates, and this will be proven, that the son asked his father, R1, to carry out the femicide,” Omar García Harfuch, Mexico’s secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, said.
Alvarez Ayala, a senior figure in the Jalisco New Generation Cartel,
In one of Gastelum’s posts on Instagram, he was posing at the grave of Leobardo Aispuro, an influencer known as “El Gordo Peruci,” per the BBC.
Aispuro was shot and killed in December 2024, which police said may have been linked to two warring factions of the Sinaloa cartel, Los Chapitos and La Mayiza.