A teenage TikTok star was tragically shot dead by an obsessive online follower, according to police reports.
Sana Yousaf, just 17 years old, was killed in her own home after “repeated rejections” of a man who had incessantly tried to contact her. A 22 year old man was apprehended on suspicion of her murder after he was seen loitering outside Sana’s house for several hours on Monday evening.
Authorities have described the teenager’s death as a “gruesome and cold-blooded murder” in Islamabad, Pakistan, which occurred after she consistently spurned his advances over a period of time.
At a press conference held on Tuesday, Islamabad’s top cop Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi declared: “It was a gruesome and cold-blooded murder… It was a case of repeated rejections. The boy was trying to reach out to her time and again.”
As per CBS News, the arrest took place 20 hours post-mortem, with the police tracking down the suspect previously seen outside the victim’s residence to another location within Islamabad, reports The Mirror.
The Mirror US notes that Sana had amassed over a million followers on TikTok, where she entertained with humorous videos, lip-syncs, skincare advice, and beauty product promotions.
Her last uploads on Instagram and TikTok, dated Monday June 2, showcased her birthday festivities through a compilation of cake-cutting, moments with friends, the event setting, and the culinary delights she relished on her celebratory day.
The heartbreaking demise of Sana has stirred a wave of mourning across her social media platforms, with fans expressing their sorrow profoundly.
Waliya Najib, a famed Pakistani actress and influencer, took to Instagram to express her grief with a poignant note: “This doesn’t feel real. You were glowing, just being 17. I’m so sorry this world didn’t protect you. Rest in peace, sweetheart [broken-heart emoji].”
An anguished soul commented, “This news shook me, you deserved the world Sana. Rest in peace.”
On TikTok, her numerous admirers are drowning Sana’s last post with demands for “justice” following her untimely and tragic end.
Human Rights Watch highlights Pakistan’s ongoing struggle with violence against its female population, recording close to 1,000 women falling victim to brutal “honor killings” each year.
In December 2018, during the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan released a biting critique of these acts, declaring: “Patriarchy and the practices it gives rise to, in terms of seeing women’s bodies and minds as property or as easy targets of violence, exploitation and abuse, has no place in any society that wishes to call itself civilised.”
