Gunman kills Mexican TikTok influencer during live stream

A gunman killed Mexican TikTok influencer Cesar Gastelum during a live stream in Culiacan, Sinaloa, on Tuesday night. The attack occurred in front of the local prosecutor's office during rush hour, underscoring the ongoing violence targeting social media personalities in the region. Gastelum, who had over 650,000 followers on TikTok, was killed after two men on a motorcycle pulled up to the car park of a Kentucky Fried Chicken where he was laughing with two others.

One attacker pulled out a gun and shot Gastelum, before the assailants fled the scene. The motive remains unclear, but authorities suspect the killing was linked to cartel violence. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum called for the perpetrators to be arrested and expressed a need to understand why the "deplorable homicide" occurred.

Gastelum often referred to himself in videos as "belico," a term suggesting a connection to cartel culture. The incident is the second fatal shooting of an influencer during a live stream within a year, highlighting a growing trend of criminal groups targeting content creators, especially in areas dominated by organized crime.