MEXICO CITY, Might 14 (Reuters) – A younger Mexican social media influencer, recognized for her movies about magnificence and make-up, was openly shot to loss of life throughout a TikTok livestream, in an incident that despatched shockwaves by way of a rustic that faces excessive ranges of gender-based violence.
The loss of life of Valeria Marquez, 23, is being investigated in response to protocols for femicide – the killing of ladies or women for causes of gender – the Jalisco state prosecutor stated in an announcement launched on Tuesday night.
Femicide can contain degrading violence, sexual abuse, a relationship with the assassin, or the sufferer’s physique being uncovered in a public area, in response to Mexican authorities.
Marquez was killed on Tuesday within the magnificence salon the place she labored within the metropolis of Zapopan by a person who entered and shot her, the assertion stated. The prosecutor’s workplace didn’t title a suspect.
Seconds earlier than the incident, Marquez was seen on her TikTok livestream seated at a desk clutching a stuffed toy. She was heard saying, “they’re coming,” earlier than a voice within the background requested “Hey, Vale?”
“Sure,” Marquez replied, simply earlier than muting the sound on the livestream.
Moments later, she was shot to loss of life. An individual appeared to select up her telephone, with their face briefly displaying on the livestream earlier than the video ended.
Marquez, who had practically 200,000 followers throughout Instagram and TikTok, had stated earlier on the livestream that somebody got here to the salon when she was not there with an “costly present” to ship to her. Marquez, who appeared involved, stated she was not planning to attend for the individual to return again.
Mexico is tied with Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia because the nations with the fourth-highest charges of femicide in Latin America and the Caribbean, in response to the newest knowledge from the United Nations Financial Fee for Latin America and the Caribbean, at 1.3 such deaths for each 100,000 girls in 2023.
Jalisco is ranked sixth out of Mexico’s 32 states, together with Mexico Metropolis, for homicides, with 906 recorded there for the reason that starting of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s time period in October 2024, in response to knowledge consultancy TResearch.
(Reporting by Cassandra Garrison and Raul CortesEditing by Rod Nickel)
