A Muslim teenager was assaulted and killed in the early hours of Sunday as she walked home after prayers at a mosque near Washington. The death of Nabra Hassanen, 17, of Reston, northern Virginia, stunned the local community. Police have charged 22-year-old Darwin Martinez Torres with her murder.
A potential hate crime is one of the possible motives under investigation, the Washington Post reported. Nabra’s mother, Sawsan Gazzar, told the paper: “I think it had to do with the way she was dressed and the fact that she’s Muslim. Why would you kill a kid? What did my daughter do to deserve this?”
The All Dulles Area Muslim Society (Adams) mosque in Sterling, the biggest in northern Virginia, holds extra late-night prayers during the last 10 days of Ramadan. Nabra was reportedly among four or five teenagers who had left the mosque in the early hours of Sunday. It was not unusual for worshippers to walk after nightfall in what is usually a safe neighbourhood. A Fairfax county police statement said: “An investigation determined she was walking outside with a group of friends when they got into a dispute with a man in a car. It appears the suspect, Darwin A Martinez Torres, 22, of Sterling, got out of his car and assaulted the victim. Her friends could not find her and police were called to help.” Nabra was reported missing about 4am. A police helicopter, patrol officers and search and rescue teams joined the hunt. “While searching, one officer saw a car driving suspiciously in the area and stopped it,” the statement added. “The driver, later identified as Martinez Torres, was taken into custody as a suspect.” About 3pm the body of a girl believed to be Nabra was found in a pond in Sterling. A baseball bat was discovered nearby, police said. Detectives later obtained a murder warrant against Martinez Torres.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/19/muslim-girl-17-killed-on…
