**Tragedy Strikes: Colombian Influencer Maria Sanchez Gunned Down in Broad Daylight**
In a shocking and heart-wrenching incident, 22-year-old Maria Jose Estupin Sanchez—a rising social media influencer and university student—was brutally shot outside her home in Colombia’s Kakuda. The chilling act, captured on CCTV, occurred just one day after Sanchez celebrated a hard-fought legal victory against her abusive former boyfriend.
Witnesses watched in horror as a man, disguised as a delivery worker, approached Sanchez under the pretense of delivering a package. Surveillance footage shows him shooting her at point-blank range before fleeing the scene, leaving behind a community in shock and sorrow. Despite being rushed to a local hospital, Sanchez succumbed to her injuries, igniting an urgent investigation by law enforcement.
This tragic event has escalated into a potential targeted killing, prompting authorities to scrutinize whether her murder is linked to the recent court ruling that awarded her approximately $7,000 for the successful prosecution of her former partner for domestic abuse. While he is reportedly under investigation, no arrests have been made yet.
Sanchez, a student at the University of Pamplona pursuing a degree in social communication, had garnered a significant following on social media, where she shared her journey as an aspiring model. The outpouring of grief and outrage on social platforms echoes the sentiments of women’s rights groups, who lament the ongoing femicide crisis in Latin America, a region plagued by alarming rates of gender-based violence.
This heartbreaking incident has drawn comparisons to the recent murder of Mexican beauty influencer Valyriia Marquez, reigniting calls for stronger protections for women across the continent. As the investigation unfolds, Maria Sanchez’s name now stands as a stark reminder of the dire need for action against gender-based violence, a battle that has claimed yet another innocent life.