Mexican influencer shot dead during livestream

What the report says

BBC World News reports that Mexican influencer César Gastélum was shot dead while livestreaming on TikTok outside a fast food restaurant in Tres Ríos, in Culiacán, in northern Mexico. According to the report, Gastélum was with two friends on Tuesday evening when two men arrived on a motorbike and one fired at close range. He was known for comedy and lifestyle content and had more than 500,000 followers on TikTok.

The article says the people on the livestream were wearing bright orange coats and bags commonly used by delivery drivers, which initially led local police to think the victim may have been a delivery worker. Officials later identified him as Gastélum. Police and forensic teams have been examining cartridge casings and CCTV footage, but no arrests had been made and the suspects escaped. It was also not yet clear whether he had been threatened.

BBC World News notes that this was not the first killing of a social media creator in Mexico. It cites the 2024 killing of influencer Leobardo Aispuro and the 2025 killing of Valeria Márquez during a livestream. More broadly, the report places the shooting in the context of persistent violence in Sinaloa, where Culiacán is the state capital and cartel infighting has fueled insecurity. The case underscores risks faced by public figures in a region already marked by organized-crime violence.