A Russian teenage beauty vlogger with almost five million subscribers on YouTube has been the victim of a prank in which a gunman grabbed her on the street and pretended to shoot her.
Schoolgirl Katya Adushkina, 15, who is also a singer with her own cosmetic brand, revealed she was targeted in the footage which has since been confiscated by police.
She said she was walking home from her gym in Moscow when she was first approached by the man.
‘This was the scariest moment of my life,’ she said, blaming the attack on people wanting to exploit her internet fame.
Russian beauty blogger Katya Adushkina, 15, has been the victim of a prank in which a gunman pretended to shoot her
The teenager, who boasts five million subscribers on YouTube, was ambushed near her home
The vlogger said it was the ‘scariest moment of her life’ and she has reported the incident to the police
‘There was a young man in a pink sweater next to the entrance of my block of flats.
‘He asked me for direction to get to the metro station. I explained where to go and continued walking.
‘He followed my every step which felt strange.
‘I stopped. And he stopped as well, and I realised something was badly wrong.
‘I was just about to start running when he grabbed me. My coat and back pack fell on the ground. I started screaming and breaking out of his arms.’
He held her and whispered she would not be harmed, said the teenager who has her own cosmetic brand called Beauty Bomb.
‘I kept fighting and then he took out a gun, which sent me into deepest shock,’ said Katya who also has 3.5 million Instagram followers.
‘I froze. To say I was scared is to underestimate what I felt in a very big way.
Katya said that a group of seven men was behind the stunt and it was secretly filmed with the intention of being posted online
She has seen the footage but banned its release, claiming her attackers aimed to get clicks exploiting her fame
‘He counted to three, as if in a countdown before shooting, but at “three” the gun didn’t shoot.’
Instead she was presented with a bunch of flowers. She returned home shaken and her parents called the police.
She said that a group of seven men was behind the stunt and it was secretly filmed with the intention of being posted online.
Katya has seen the footage but banned its release, claiming her attackers aimed to get clicks exploiting her fame.
She said police have now confiscated the video of the incident from the pranksters.
‘It turned out that it was a well-planned attack,’ she said.
‘I don’t know any of these people, but they took great time to prepare it.
‘There were seven young men with walky-talkies who meticulously planned the attack.
Police have now confiscated the video of the incident from the pranksters and are investigating
Katya said: ‘If you want to prank a stranger, how can you know his or her emotional and psychological limits’
‘For the sake of YouTube likes they are ready to point a gun at someone.’
They also had a plan to pull her into a car as if kidnapping her, she said.
‘I am only 15, what have I done to deserve this?’ she said.
‘Dear God, even to think back about it is scary.
‘You can’t just grab someone and point a gun – and then start laughing and give flowers.
‘If you want to prank a stranger, how can you know his or her emotional and psychological limits?
‘Maybe for someone its not scary to have a gun pointing at your face, but for some of us even seeing a stranger suddenly jumping at you is scary.
‘What’s next? What other things people will do for the sake of likes?’
It was ‘mean when people try to gain popularity at expense of others’, she said.
Russian police are investigating her complaints.