17-year-old Pakistani TikTok star Sana Yousaf was shot several times and murdered by her cousin, Umar Hayat, on June 2 in Islamabad. She was shot at home, according to reports, in front of her mother and aunt. The killing of Sana Yousaf has outraged people online and in Pakistan.
As reported by Islamabad Inspector General Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi, Hayat had been stalking Sana for a while and had made several overtures towards her, both on and offline, which she repeatedly declined. “Hayat was attempting to reach out to Sana through social media and was rebuffed by her time and again,” Rizvi said to reporters.
Killer Waited Outside on the Birthday of Sana Yousaf
Rizvi disclosed that on the birthday of Sana, May 29, Hayat arrived at her residence and stood outside her house for over seven hours expecting to see her. She did not receive him. “First, it was a cellular rejection. Now, it was a physical mode of rejection,” Rizvi said in a USA Today report.
Days later, Hayat reportedly broke into the house and shot her several times. Police picked him up the next day in Faisalabad, around 200 miles from Islamabad. “A monster, cold-blooded murderer is now in the law’s grip,” Rizvi said.
Police Recover Weapon; Accused Confesses
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi confirmed through a tweet on X that Hayat had owned up to the crime and that the weapon of murder had been recovered. The accused was from a lower-middle-income class and had no known source of earnings, according to reports.
Police officials also revealed that Hayat had earlier tried to contact Sana Yousaf through social media platforms, which led to harassment complaints. Sana, known for her vibrant and positive TikTok content, had a growing following and was considered a rising digital star in Pakistan.