A teenage TikTok star has reportedly been shot dead by a 'rejected' 22-year-old man.
Sana Yousaf, who has more than a million followers on social media, had just turned 17 when she died of a fatal gunshot wound in her home in Islamabad, Pakistan's capital, on Monday (June 2).
Pakistani police confirmed the teenager had died on Tuesday, reports CBS News, and they have since arrested a man that they say had spent hours lingering outside her home before her alleged 'gruesome' murder.
Islamabad police chief Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi said in a news conference that the 22-year-old man had been turned down by Sana multiple times and was arrested within 20 hours of the teen's death.
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Rizvi said: "It was a case of repeated rejections. The boy was trying to reach out to her time and again."
"It was a gruesome and cold-blooded murder," he added.
The teen was a popular content creator on social media, particularly on TikTok where she amassed a following of more than 800,000 followers for her popular videos like lip-sync clips, skincare advice, beauty promo videos and her fashionable outfits.
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As well as posting videos of cars and products, the youngster was also seen having fun with her friends, eating pizza and sharing jokes with her fans.
Tragically, the last post Sana shared was of her cutting a birthday cake under an arch of pink balloons in celebration of her 17th. That video was posted just hours before she died.
Dozens paid tribute to the late star in the comments of the video, writing 'Rest in Peace' and 'Justice for Sana.'
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"This is so awful. A literal 17 year old with so much innocence, killed for what?" said one fan.
"Can’t believe this," another said with a broken heart emoji. "May her soul rest in peace."
A third wrote: "Nobody is safe in this country! This is so heartbreaking!!"
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The harrowing incident comes as violence against women and girls in Pakistan is particularly acute, where last year more than 24,000 cases of abductions and kidnappings were reported across the country according to a recent study.
The researchers add there were more than 2,000 cases of domestic violence, more than 500 cases of 'honor killings' and over 5,000 cases of rape reported in 2024, though conviction rates remain abysmal at below two percent for each of the crimes.
UNFPA Pakistan further reveals 28 percent of women aged between 15 to 49 have experienced physical violence, six percent have suffered sexual violence and 34 percent of married women have experienced physical, sexual and/or emotional violence from their spouse.
Instances where women are attacked after rejecting a man's advances of marriage proposals are also not uncommon, CBS News adds.
Topics: TikTok, Crime, Social Media, World News, Domestic Abuse
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