Protesters, including many journalists, gathered in Culiacán on May 16, at the spot where award-winning journalist Javier Valdez was slain one day earlier.

The protesters then marched to the Sinaloa state building to demand a meeting with Governor Quirino Ordaz Coppel, pushing for an end to violence against journalists, and a fair investigation into Valdez’s death.

Coppel organized an impromptu press conference, during which he denounced the murder of Valdez, whom he called a friend, according to Animal Politico. Coppel also proposed a citizen committee, comprised of journalists, to oversee the investigation, El Universal reported.

Valdez was fatally shot in Culiacan, in the northwest Mexican state of Sinaloa on Monday, May 15. Valdez was the fifth journalist killed in Mexico in 2017, according to El Pais.