Teen TikTok star shot dead: What we know so far

Seventeen-year-old social media influencer Sana Yousaf was shot and killed at her home in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Monday in what police and rights activists are calling a targeted act of gender-based violence.

Yousaf, who had amassed over 1.1 million followers on TikTok and was known for her lip-sync videos, was reportedly shot twice in the chest and later died at the hospital. She was originally from Chitral in northern Pakistan and had recently celebrated her birthday, as seen in her last TikTok post.

Police arrested a 22-year-old man from Faisalabad within 20 hours of the murder. According to Islamabad’s police chief, the suspect had tried to contact Yousaf multiple times and traveled to Islamabad to see her. When she refused to meet him, he allegedly forced his way into her home and shot her during an argument. The suspect also took her phone, apparently in an attempt to destroy evidence.

The murder has sparked widespread outrage, with women’s rights groups, including the Aurat March and the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW), condemning the killing and demanding justice. “This wasn’t a random act – it was a premeditated attack by a man who couldn’t take no for an answer,” said a statement from Aurat March.

Sana’s murder is the latest in a growing number of violent crimes targeting women in Pakistan, particularly those with a public presence online. Activists warn of a disturbing trend in which women are punished for visibility, independence, and rejecting unwanted advances.

In 2024 alone, at least 346 women in Pakistan were killed in the name of “honour,” according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan — a number that excludes many cases like Yousaf’s, where the attacker was not a family member.

Yousaf was buried on Tuesday in her ancestral village in Chitral.