A SOCIAL media influencer was brutally shot dead by a man posing as a courier at her home in Colombia.
María José Estupiñán Sánchez, 22, was shot at point-blank range after being approached by a man with a fake package.
The tragic shooting happened as she stepped outside her home in the La Riviera neighbourhood of Cucuta – close to the Venezuelan border.
The bullet hit her directly in the right cheekbone, according to local media.
Security camera footage from the neighbourhood shows the alleged suspect running away following the shooting.
Estupiñán was taken to hospital soon after the incident, but sadly died from her injuries.
“She was killed by a man who pretended to be delivering a package,” Colonel Leonardo Capacho of Cucuta’s Metropolitan Police said.
Police suspect that her passing might be associated with a legal proceeding she attended earlier in the month, during which she allegedly provided testimony against her former partner in a domestic violence case.
She may have been set to receive a payout of 30 million COP (£5,400), NDTV has reported.
The ex-boyfriend is now being probed as a key suspect in the case, but no arrests have been confirmed so far.
A suspect seen in the security footage was seen wearing a black cap with a jacket, jeans, and a backpack.
Estupiñán was in her seventh term studying media studies at the Francisco de Paula Santander University at the time of her tragic death.
She had aspired to become a TV presenter, and worked as a model alongside her studies.
A university representative stated: “Our university community condemns all forms of violence that shatter the dreams of our young people.”
“We stand in solidarity with the families, friends, and classmates to whom we extend our deepest condolences.”
Magda Victoria Acosta, who heads the National Gender Commission of the Colombian Judiciary, remarked: “She was a young, driven woman with a future ahead, but her dreams ended prematurely, similar to those of many women in this nation.”
According to campaign group Human Rights Watch, gender-based violence is “widespread” in Colombia.
Its 2023 report into the country says: “Lack of training and poor implementation of treatment protocols impede timely access to medical services and create obstacles for women and girls seeking post-violence care and justice.
“Perpetrators of gender-based crimes are rarely held accountable.”
It comes just days after a TikTok star was shot dead in Mexico during a livestream.
Valeria Marquez, 23, died when a man entered her beauty salon “and fired a gun at her”, prosecutors say.
It happened at the salon where she worked in the city of Zapopan, in the state of Jalisco.
Global News called her death a “brazen killing which has sent shockwaves through Mexico.”
Prosecutors have said the incident is being treated as a femicide – the killing of a woman for gender-based reasons.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or chat at thehotline.org.
Domestic abuse
DOMESTIC abuse can affect anyone – including men – and does not always involve physical violence.
Here are some signs that you could be in an abusive relationship:
- Emotional abuse – Including being belittled, blamed for the abuse – gaslighting – being isolated from family and friends, having no control over your finances, what you where and who you speak to
- Threats and intimidation – Some partners might threaten to kill or hurt you, destroy your belongings, stalk or harass you
- Physical abuse – This can range from slapping or hitting to being shoved over, choked or bitten.
- Sexual abuse – Being touched in a way you do not want to be touched, hurt during sex, pressured into sex or forced to have sex when you do not consent.
If any of the above apply to you or a friend, you can call these numbers:
Remember, you are not alone.
1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men will experience domestic abuse over the course of their lifetime.
Every 30 seconds the police receive a call for help relating to domestic abuse.
