With social media networks, earning money for some people have become easy.
Sometimes, teens can earn more than their average-paid parents, and some of the world's most famous social media influencers can earn millions of dollars.
But before that can happen, social media users need to be famous.
And on social media platforms, the currency to judge the fame of someone, is by seeing the amount of followers, Likes and engagements.
Ava Majury is only 15 years old, but already amassed more than a million followers, and earned hundreds of dollars per sponsored post. Her fame on TikTok fame has crossed to Instagram and Snapchat, too.
As a young girl with fans, Ava experienced the dark side of social media fame, in which stalkers are after her.
And this time, Ava would be dead by one of them, if only her father didn't intervene by killing the stalker first.
Ava was still staying at her parents' house. Her mother, an ultrasound technologist, and her father, a retired North Jersey police lieutenant.
Ava joined TikTok during the 'COVID-19' coronavirus lockdown was imposed at her state. Quickly, she found success by selling her own photos, creating a bunch of videos and other things online.
And just like many of her peers, she would post videos of her doing lip sync to popular songs, dancing, playing pranks and creating funny moments with her family. Nothing in particular that is different from the posts made by many other teens on TikTok in the U.S., or around the world for that matter.
Her parents were also supportive.
It was even reported that Ava once attracted sponsorship deals worth $150,000.
But no one in the family expected that Ava's fame would bring a near-death situation, coming right through their front door.
Young and beautiful, Ava has lots of fans.
One of her fans, was 18-year-old Eric Rohan Justin.
Eric who went by the online username of EricJustin11, approached Ava in the early months of her TikTok fame, trying to get her attention through comments. He also started following Ava everywhere from her Instagram and Snapchat accounts to her Twitch video gaming sessions with her brothers.
She then began messaging Ava, and also contacting her former classmates reportedly asking for pictures and personal details about her.
Ava's friend declined Eric's advances, knowing that Ava was a minor. She told Eric to stop pursuing her and should stop contacting her.
This didn't stop Eric. In fact, it made him even more eager.
As a stalker, Eric managed to obtain the TikTok star’s phone number. This was when he started texting and calling her, asking her for her selfies, and even offered to pay for them.
Her parents disapproved of this, but later approved after consideration, on the basis that images were already freely available on Instagram.
Eric handed over $300 for two photos.
"I wasn’t sending anything of my body. it was just pictures of my face, which is what I assume that he was paying for. My whole thing is my pretty smile — that’s my content," she said.
But sooner than later, Eric began asking for lewd pictures, like requesting more explicit image that include her booty shots and snaps of her feet.
This was when Ava and her family started to think that the man has gone too far.
Ava blocked Eric from all of her social media accounts.
"I started seeing some comments that were a bit creepy for a 13-year-old to be getting so I had him blocked," Ava said. "Then I realized that they started coming in on different accounts."
Her father Robert also reached to Eric, telling the young man to stop pursuing his daughter.
Realizing Ava has started putting up her defenses, Eric apologized, and sent a letter containing $500 and a note reading:
"Sorry this is all I have left I’m broke."
But being apologetic didn't stop Eric's advances. And this time, he showed the worst part of his obsession.
Ava showed her parents the disturbing messages Eric sent to her. But the Majurys felt the threats would remain online.
"I negated it and said, 'Oh, he lives in Maryland. He's young, probably doesn't have a means to act on any of these things,'" Robert said.
But they were wrong.
On July 2021, Eric traveled to the Majury's home, armed with a shotgun,
Very early in the morning, at 4AM, Eric loaded his shells and blew open the family's front door.
He entered the home, and shouted Ava's name.
Ava said that she was genuinely afraid for her safety after she awoke to the sound of the gunfire.
"All I remember was, I heard it, I felt it in my chest, and I looked up, and there was a hole in my door from the fragments," she said.
While Ava's mother and her children rushed to safety, Robert Majury picked up a gun to confront Eric.
At one point, Eric ran away because his shotgun was jammed. Robert chased him, and stood at the door, guarding, waiting for the police to show up. But Eric returned in an attempt to attack Robert.
This was when the two had their guns pointed at each other.
"When that sound went off we knew what it was. When we heard that loud boom. I actually thought my daughter was dead," said Kimberly Majury, Ava’s Mother
But the gun shot was Robert's.
Robert managed to shoot Eric first, and killed him on the spot.
"Someone came to kill me. I was in fear for my family’s life and I had to do what I had to do to protect my family and I made sure of it. There was no second guessing, there was no time to rethink my actions. I reacted. I acted as best as I could under the duress and stress I was put under," said Ava’s father.
Becoming a social media influencer can be an extremely attractive work. It can attract worldwide fame, and huge sponsorship money. What's more, many of social media celebrities on TikTok are teens.
Fortunately for teens, they have lots to experience in their future; they have time to earn even more fame and fortune along the way.
Unfortunately for them, due to their young age, many social media influencers lack the sensibility of drawing a line between their personal and professional life.
This may result to stress and depression to online trolling, and constant pressure of getting content viral but can sometimes lead to real-life violence.
Ava is not the first to go through such an experience, and she won’t be the last.
The incident highlights how far some deranged people can do to hurt their idols, if they don't get what they want.
Since the shooting in July, the Majurys had to leave their neighborhood and move into a rental house.
"Social media can connect people of all walks of life and create a sense of community," Ava said in a statement on February 22. "But I’m telling my story so that young people and parents are also aware of the dangers of social media."
Despite experiencing the near-death incident, the teen and her parents defended Ava in selling her selfies, and Ava also said that she will stay on TikTok, despite the safety risks.
"Her creations, her contacts, her videos became such a big part of her that to take it away would have been hard," her father said.
"We chose what’s best for our family," her mother added. "We know there are going to be two sides, and some people won’t understand."
"She worked really hard at getting the crowd that she has," her mother said.
"As bad as the situation is with TikTok, it's actually a really great forum. It's a very positive, healthy environment for her to be and especially after what we just went through."
Robert has not been charged with any crime related to the incident, protected by the state’s Stand Your ground law.
But months later, on February 2022, the Majurys are again at court. But this time, they testify about another of Ava's stalker.