Sana Yousaf, who was a 17-year-old TikTok star, was fatally shot by a man who had frequently contacted her after she rejected his advances, police in Pakistan say
A teenage girl was fatally shot by a man who had persistently pursued her online, police say.
Sana Yousaf, 17, was murdered in her own home following “repeated rejections” of a man who had tried to “reach out to her time and again”. A 22-year-old suspect was arrested on suspicion of murder after had been spotted lingering outside Sana’s residence for hours on Monday night.
Police say the teenager, who was a TikTok sensation, became the victim of the “gruesome and cold-blooded murder” in Islamabad, Pakistan, following the rejections, which went on for some time.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Islamabad police chief Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi said: “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.”
CBS News reports the arrest was made 20 hours after the death as police traced the suspect spotted lingering outside the house to another address in Islamabad.
Sana had more than one million TikTok followers, reports the Mirror US. She used the platform to share comedy clips, lip-sync performances, skincare tips, and to promote beauty products.
Her final post on both Instagram and TikTok, dated Monday June 2, captured her birthday celebrations in a montage featuring cake-cutting, time with friends, the venue, and the food enjoyed on her special day.
The tragic passing of Sana has captured the hearts of her followers and netizens alike, prompting an outpouring of grief on her social media accounts.
On her Instagram profile, Waliya Najib, a renowned Pakistani actress and social media influencer, penned a heartfelt message: “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].”
Another devastated individual shared, “This news shook me, you deserved the world Sana. Rest in peace.”
Over on TikTok, legions of fans are inundating Sana’s final post with calls for “justice” following her untimely demise.
As reported by Human Rights Watch, the pervasive issue of violence against women and girls remains rampant across Pakistan, with activists estimating nearly 1,000 victims falling prey to heinous “honor killings” annually.
In their declaration from December 2018, part of the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan condemned patriarchal norms stating: “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.”