TikTok star charged with murder after 30-year-old man, who was a new dad and due to marry, shot dead in a car park

Popular American TikTok star Justin Guzman is facing a murder charge for his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of Anthony Sanders, aged 30, last month.

The incident happened in a car park near Houston’s Galleria shopping centre, United States, at around 5pm on Tuesday June 3, according to a local media report from EyeWitness News. Guzman, who handed himself in to authorities on Monday (June 30) is accused of murder alongside friend Marko Cinan, 23.

Guzman appeared in court earlier this week in Houston to face the charges, and during his hearing officials said the victim's fiancée, who has not been named, encountered three men in a lift in the shopping centre and one of them insulted her.

She told Sanders, who was picking her up from work, and he found the men and exchanged words with them about what they had said to his wife-to-be, according to court officials. However, when Sanders and his fiancée then got in his car and tried to leave the car park, Cinan allegedly break checked Sanders so he was forced to abruptly stop his car and couldn’t leave.

He then reportedly had several shots fired at him, coming from both Guzman and Cinan, when he got out of the car to complain. The Houston Police Department later discovered Sanders with multiple gunshot wounds. He was rushed to nearby Ben Taub General Hospital, but he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Sanders, who was a Marine veteran, had a 10-month-old son and was due to get married. Sanders’ mum, Ronyel Sanders, told local news outlet KPRC 2 Investigates that she was also on the phone with her son when he was killed. She also told the outlet that he had “died protecting his son and his fiancée” because “that’s what he does”.

On Monday, Guzman handed himself in to police and allegedly admitted to his part in Sanders’ murder, accompanied by his attorney, Romy Kaplan. Kaplan claims that Guzman was defending himself because Sanders allegedly walked toward him with a knife in car park. Initial court records showed that Sanders was unarmed, however.

Cinan was charged last week with Sanders' murder. He remains in jail on a $1 million bond. Guzman was charged on Monday, and a judge set Guzman's bond at $750,000 on Tuesday (July 1).

Guzman, who lives in Houston, Texas, rose to fame on TikTok for his dance videos. He has often been compared to the character of Vector from animated children’s film Despicable Me because of his colourful tracksuits and haircut. He gained more than 130,000 followers on his main account, but he was also banned regularly. After his main account was banned, he set up another one and had gained more than 52,000 followers on this secondary account, prior to his arrest. This TikTok account is still live at the time of writing (on the morning of Thursday July 3).