A Washington, D.C., memorial constructed for a Muslim teen who was killed near her mosque in Virginia was set on fire in Dupont Circle Wednesday, fire officials confirmed.
DC Fire told Fox5DC that they responded to the scene around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday to find a memorial erected for 17-year-old Nabra Hassanen on fire. The flames were put out, and officials say they are investigating the incident.
Dupont Circle was just one place around the nation where several gathered to honor and remember Nabra, who was killed as she and some other teens were walking back to the mosque in Sterling, Va., early Sunday.
Police are investigating the attack on Nabra as a road rage incident, claiming that the suspect, 22-year-old Darwin Martinez Torres, became angry at a teen in her group who was riding a bicycle and that an argument ensued and then soon after, escalated. Torres pulled over, chased the group with a baseball bat and attacked Nabra, police say.
Torres struck Nabra with the bat and then abducted the 17-year-old, taking her into his car to another location, where he assaulted her again, authorities say. Her body was later found in a pond.
Authorities say they believe that Nabra was assaulted twice before she died, once in Loudoun County, Va., and once in Fairfax County, Va. Officers confirmed that they were investigating whether the teen was sexually assaulted during one of the attacks.
Several donation pages have been established to help Nabra’s family, including a GoFundMe, which has raised more than $70,000 of a $100,000 goal, and a LaunchGood, which has raised $308,476 of a $350,000 goal.
Read more at Fox5DC.
