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A 23-year-old Mexican social media influencer has been shot dead while live streaming on TikTok, the state prosecutor’s office said.<\/p>\n
Valeria Marquez was killed when a man entered her beauty salon in the city of Guadalajara “and apparently fired a gun at her”, according to the Jalisco state prosecutor’s office.<\/p>\n
The motive for the fatal attack has not been identified but the case is being investigated as a femicide – when women and girls are killed because of their gender, the state prosecutor said.<\/p>\n
Gender-based violence is highly common in Mexico where the UN reports 10 women or girls are murdered every day by partners or family members.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Moments before her death, Ms Marquez was sitting at a table holding a stuffed animal at her beauty salon in the suburb of Zapopan doing a livestream.<\/p>\n
Seconds later, she is shot dead, with the footage only ending when another person picks up her phone to stop the recording.<\/p>\n
Local media reports say she was killed by a man pretending to bring her a gift.<\/p>\n
Police arrived at the scene around 18:30 local time (12:30 GMT) and confirmed Ms Marquez’s death, according to the state prosecutor.<\/p>\n
The prosecutor’s office did not name a suspect.<\/p>\n
Fans of Ms Marquez, whose social media following totalled nearly 200,000 across TikTok and Instagram, have reacted with horror to her death.<\/p>\n
Mayor of Zapopan Juan Jos\u00e9 Frangie said his office had no record of Ms Marquez requesting help from the authorities due to threats against her, adding “a\u00a0femicide\u00a0is\u00a0the\u00a0worst\u00a0thing”, according to news agency AFP.<\/p>\n
The state prosecutor says forensic experts are investigating the shooting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n