Valeria Marquez, 23-year-old TikTok influencer known for her beauty and makeup content fatally shot during a live stream at her beauty salon in Zapopan, Jalisco, on Tuesday, May 13, 2025.
The shocking incident captured on camera has sparked widespread grief. And outrage among her nearly 200,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram, highlighting Mexico’s ongoing crisis of gender-based violence.
Marquez was broadcasting from Blossom the Beauty Lounge, her salon in the Santa María shopping plaza, when the attack occurred around 6:30 p.m. local time. Moments before her death. She mentioned an unknown person who had visited the salon earlier with an “expensive gift” for her expressing unease and stating she would not wait for their return.
During the live stream, a voice off-camera asked, “Are you Valeria?” to which she replied, “Yes,” before muting the audio. Seconds later, a gunman shot her in the chest and head, killing her instantly. The footage ended when an unidentified person picked up her phone, briefly appearing on camera before stopping the stream.
Jalisco’s State Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the killing as a femicide, a gender-based crime often involving degrading violence or ties to the perpetrator. Police arrived at the scene to find Marquez deceased, and forensic teams are now collecting evidence, including shell casings, to identify the suspect, who fled on a motorcycle.
No arrests have been made and the motive remains unclear. Authorities have not linked the attack to criminal groups like the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Which operates in the region, despite Zapopan’s history of violence.
Marquez, a Zapopan native, gained fame through her engaging beauty tutorials. And lifestyle posts, amassing 113,000 TikTok followers and 149,000 on Instagram.
She opened her salon in 2024 and crowned Miss Rostro in a 2021 local beauty contest solidifying her status in the modeling and beauty world. Her final Instagram post a mirror selfie from the salon shared hours before her death. Now flooded with tributes from devastated fans.
The murder underscores Mexico’s alarming femicide rates with the United Nations reporting 10 women or girls killed daily, often by partners or family. Mexico ties with Paraguay, Uruguay. And Bolivia for the fourth-highest femicide rate in Latin America, at 1.3 deaths per 100,000 women in 2023.
Jalisco ranks sixth among Mexico’s 32 states for homicides, with 906 recorded since October 2024. Zapopan Mayor Juan Jose Frangie called the killing “the worst thing,” noting no prior threats were reported by Marquez.
Fans and social media users worldwide have expressed sorrow and anger, with posts on X reflecting the shock. One user wrote, “Valeria was so full of life, gone in seconds. Mexico’s violence must end.” Another questioned, “Who was the woman who stopped the stream?” referring to the unidentified figure in the video’s final moments.
The incident follows another recent killing in Veracruz. Where a mayoral candidate shot dead during a live stream amplifying concerns about public safety.
The Jalisco Institute of Forensic Sciences is conducting an autopsy, and Marquez’s family will formally identify her body. President Claudia Sheinbaum expressed solidarity, stating, “An investigation is underway to find those responsible and the motive.”
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As authorities hunt for the gunman, Marquez’s death remains a stark reminder of the pervasive violence against women in Mexico. Leaving her fans and community mourning a vibrant young star.
