A Pakistani-American professional photographer Sania Khan was shot dead by her ex-husband at her apartment in Streeterville, Chicago.
Sania suffered a gunshot wound to the back of her head.
After shooting her, Sania's ex-husband, identified as 36-year-old Raheel Ahmad, then turned the pistol on himself.
He was discovered by the police in a bedroom with a head injury. A handgun was found in his hand and a suicide note was discovered nearby, according to a Sun-Times report.
Ahmad was transported to Northwestern Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
"Her death was ruled a homicide, according to the medical examiner’s office. His death was listed as a suicide," the report said.
The reportedly depressed Raheel Ahmad travelled from Georgia to Chicago in a bid to salvage his marriage as their divorce had been finalized in May.
"He was holding a 9mm Glock handgun, and a suicide note was found nearby," reports state.
The People, quoting from Khan's website, reported that she was a professional photographer who moved to Chicago from Chattanooga in June 2021.
"I used to love travel so much that I was a flight attendant," she wrote. "My favourite layover was always Chicago and who would have known 2 years later I would have moved there?"
Khan also posted about her marital and personal struggles on TikTok.
In one TikTok post, she wrote, "It's painful to walk away from someone you once loved. But it's even more painful to love someone who is careless with your heart."
In another post, she wrote: "Going through a divorce as a South Asian Woman feels like you failed at life sometimes," she wrote. "The way the community labels you, the lack of emotional support you receive, and the pressure to stay with someone because 'what will people say' is isolating. It makes it harder for women to leave marriage that they shouldn't have been in to begin with," she wrote, as mentioned in the People report.
Pakistani women and Sania's friends have taken to Twitter to grieve the death of Sania and to highlight abusive relationships.
(Suicide helplines --- Maithri, Cochin: +91 239 6272; Sumaitri, New Delhi: 2338 9090, Sneha, Chennai: 91-44-2464 0050, 91-44-2464 0060)