Virginia: A 17-year-old girl, Nabra Hassanen was killed in an attack in Sterling, Virginia State in US on Sunday night while returning from prayers. Darwin Martinez Torres a 22-year-old resident of Sterling has been arrested in connection with this murder.
According to the report of Reuters, the incident took place after the road dispute with a boy on a bicycle who was among a group of teenagers that included Hassanen.
Julie Parker, Spokeswoman of Fairfax County Police said that the argument became so serious that it led to deadly violence. However, she denied linking the violence with religion or race. She further said that there was no evidence that Martinez made racial comments during the attack.
This Muslim girl didn't know she would lose her life after performing the Ramadan prayer. pic.twitter.com/bT7bJW1VZ7
— AJ+ (@ajplus) June 19, 2017
Giving the details of the attack, Parker said that the incident took place at 3:40 a.m. when Martinez, who was driving a car, picked up an argument with a boy who was on a bicycle. The boy was among the group of 15 teenagers returning home after attending the prayer at the Masjid.
After heated argument, Martinez chased the youth into a parking lot. He came out of the car and hit Hassanen with a baseball bat. After hitting, he loaded Hassanen into his car and dumped her in nearby pond. Her body was recovered on Sunday by search team and autopsy was conducted. Report of autopsy says that she suffered from blunt force trauma to the upper body.
Meanwhile, Washington Post reported that Hassanen and her friends were attacked due to their Islamic dress ‘Abayas’.
After preliminary investigation, Police arrested Martinez and produced him in court. Judge sent him to judicial custody.