Colorado Teen Shot And Killed While Filming A TikTok Video

A teenage girl was shot to death on Aug. 7, 2022, while filming TikTok videos with two other teens at a home in Monte Vista, Colorado. Officers with the Monte Vista Police Department arrived on the scene shortly before the young victim was pronounced dead.

A family friend identified the apparent murder victim as 14-year-old Aaliyah Annalyse Ranee Sanchez, according to KDVR. The two girls who were present haven’t been identified, but one said she saw the suspect point and fire a gun at the victim before tossing the gun on a nearby bed. KRDO-TV reported that a Glock 19 pistol was discharged in the killing.

ABC News reported that, when asked if the shooting seemed like an accident, the witness told police that it could be an accident. Police watched the videos that the girls were filming, and the video shot just before the killing shows the victim dancing while someone is in the back “fiddling with something”.

After many interviews were done in an extensive investigation and all the evidence was carefully reviewed, arrest warrants were issued on Aug. 11, 2022 for three individuals related to the shooting death. According to the Monte Vista Police Department’s Facebook page, two juvenile females were arrested for reckless manslaughter and possession of a handgun by juveniles. These young women are being held at the Pueblo Youth Detention Center.

Emiliano Vargas, the 21-year-old owner of the gun that was used in the murder, was also arrested for not securely storing the firearm and providing the weapon to the minors. He told police he was not at the scene when the gun was fired. Vargas is being held at the Rio Grande County Jail.