Fernanda Gastélum Was Shot Inside Her Los Mochis Photo Studio, Not at Home: Sinaloa Prosecutor Calls It a Femicide, Says Motive Looks ‘Personal’ as Video Tracks the Gunman
Fernanda Gastélum, the 31-year-old pregnant woman shot dead in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, on Monday, Sept. 28, was attacked inside the photography studio where she worked, not at her home as first reported, Sinaloa Attorney General Claudia Zulema Sánchez Kondo said on Sept. 29. Her office is investigating the killing as a femicide. Sánchez Kondo said investigators are working, “presumptively,” on the theory that the motive was personal. No arrest had been announced as of Oct. 1.
What the prosecutor said
“It was a direct attack on her,” Sánchez Kondo told reporters, according to Línea Directa and Luz Noticias. She said Gastélum was shot five times. One person entered “the building where she worked,” she said, describing Gastélum as a photographer. “We already have videos collected, we have photographs… We already have the vehicle located,” she said. El Universal reported that she said investigators also had the license plates of the car the suspect fled in. Sánchez Kondo said the state recorded 21 femicides in September.
The family has asked the attorney general’s office for protection because they fear the attacker, El Universal reported. Gov. Graciela Domínguez Nava said she hopes “soon to have an arrest of the person or persons responsible.” She said the state victims’ commission is supporting the family, Línea Directa reported.
What the security video shows
Noroeste reported on Sept. 29 that prosecutors have added a 2-minute, 12-second security video to the case file. It shows Gastélum parking a gray Nissan and walking into her studio near Juan S. Millán and Francisco Villa streets in the Ampliación 12 de Octubre neighborhood. A man in dark clothes with a white stripe across the chest walks out of the building, turns back inside, then runs off on foot. The newspaper said the video does not support early witness accounts that the gunman wore a utility-company uniform. Investigators are checking whether a white sedan seen behind the building carried him away.
Milenio’s report on the security footage:
How this differs from first reports
Our Sept. 28 story, based on that day’s reports, said Gastélum was attacked at or outside her home and was about seven months pregnant. Prosecutors now describe her as eight months pregnant and place the attack at her workplace. El Universal quoted Sánchez Kondo as placing the business on Rosendo G. Castro Street in downtown Los Mochis. Officials have not said that any criminal group was involved.
Sources
- Línea Directa, Sept. 29, 2026 (prosecutor’s statements)
- Línea Directa, Sept. 29, 2026 (governor)
- Luz Noticias, Sept. 29, 2026
- El Universal, Sept. 29, 2026
- Noroeste, Sept. 29, 2026 (security video)
- Milenio video
- Photos: Luz Noticias via Luz Noticias; Gabriel Ruiz via Línea Directa
Reported Oct. 1, 2026, from Mexican media accounts published Sept. 29–Oct. 1. Accounts of where the attack happened and how far along the pregnancy was have changed since the first reports. Authorities had not publicly named a suspect or announced an arrest.