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Mexican influencer Cesar Gastelum, 24, was shot and killed Tuesday while livestreaming in front of a fast-food restaurant in the northwestern Mexican city of Culiacan, local authorities said.
Gastelum, who had nearly 600,000 followers on TikTok, was attacked by two helmeted people on a motorcycle before being shot, footage reviewed by Reuters showed. A Sinaloa state security official verified his death to Reuters and said a large-scale security response was underway.
According to Mexico's Federal Security Cabinet, investigators are looking into whether the attack on Gastelum stemmed from social media content in which he reportedly referenced a criminal faction in some of his posts.
The Cabinet also noted that federal authorities and the Sinaloa Prosecutor's Office are reviewing security camera footage and other evidence as they work to track down and arrest those responsible.
Organized crime has increasingly disrupted Culiacan and other parts of Sinaloa. A report from the International Crisis Group details how rival Sinaloa Cartel factions, Los Mayos and Los Chapitos, have been locked in a power struggle since September 2024.
This ongoing territorial war has swept across major urban hubs, including Culiacan and Mazatlan.
Gastelum's killing echoes a comparable case from May 2025, when Mexican beauty influencer Valeria Marquez, 23, was fatally shot while livestreaming on TikTok from a salon in Zapopan, Jalisco.
In late July, Mexican officials revealed the arrest of Ramon Angel Alvarez Ayala, identified by federal Security Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch as the head of Los Rs, a criminal cell tied to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
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