A woman who sparked outcry after posting a gruesome video of herself decapitating an owl on social media has been shot dead in a drive-by shooting in Colombia.
Mileydis Aldana, 21, was assassinated by a motorcycle rider outside her residence in the town of Corozal in the state of Sucre on Sunday afternoon. Two men on a motorcycle appeared outside the entrance of her home in the Luis Carlos Galán neighborhood.
One of the men then got off a motorcycle and shot her six times before fleeing the scene. Three bullets hit her, in the left arm, two in the left leg and another in the chest. She was rushed to a nearby hospital by family members who heard the shots but was pronounced dead after she arrived without any vital signs.
Owl Killing Video Spurred Animal Abuse Probe
Aldana's killing comes six months after she was dubbed the "Own Killer" for beheading a live white barn owl in a graphic video she posted online, which went viral across Latin America and sparked outrage from animal-lovers and activists.
In the clip, Aldana posed with the dead bird, brandishing its head as a trophy in one hand while holding its headless carcass in the other. She had been questioned by police over the video after a complaint filed by Colombia's environmental agency. At the time, the local prosecutor said Aldana was being probed for animal abuse.
Death Threats
The motive behind Aldana's killing is not yet known but days before her slaying, she received death threats. In Facebook posts that have since been deleted, she wrote that her life was in danger and that people were trying to kill her. However, she did not cite a reason or whether she had filed a formal complaint with the authorities.
Aldana, according to the authorities, had several judicial notations for manufacturing, carrying and trafficking of drugs, according to local newspaper El Heraldo.
