CHARSADDA: A ninth-grade student was killed allegedly by a fellow student following a dispute over comments on a TikTok post at a private school here on Wednesday.

The slain student has been identified as Salman.

The victim’s brother, Shehzad lodged an FIR with Mandani police station, stating that he was informed that his brother had an altercation with another student at the school.

Upon reaching the school, he found Salman engaged in a heated argument with Faizan, a tenth-grade student.

The complainant stated that in the presence of school principal, Naseer Ahmad and other students, Faizan suddenly pulled out a firearm and opened fire on Salman. The bullet struck Salman in the chest, leaving him critically injured.

The injured student was shifted to Jamalabad Hospital and later referred to another hospital due to his critical condition. However, he succumbed to his injuries while being transported.

Police said the preliminary cause of the incident appears to be a personal grudge stemming from TikTok-related disputes. The body was shifted to Jamalabad Rural Health Centre for postmortem.

Police registered a case and launched further investigation.

Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2026