FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) – What was supposed to be a morning of prayer and reflection in the Islamic holy month of Ramadan ended in tragedy when 17-year-old Nabra Hassanen was fatally attacked as she headed back to a Virginia mosque after enjoying a pre-dawn meal with friends.
Hassanen died of blunt force trauma to her upper body after 22-year-old Darwin Martinez Torres assaulted her with a baseball bat early Sunday in what police have described as a road rage incident in suburban Washington, authorities said Monday.
Police said Martinez Torres attacked the girl after getting into a fight with another teen in the group and they have found no evidence to suggest Hassanen’s killing was a hate crime.
“Nothing indicates that this was motivated by race or by religion. It appears the suspect became so enraged over this traffic argument that it escalated into deadly violence,” Fairfax County Police Spokeswoman Julie Parker said.
Hassanen, 17, was with a group of as many as 15 other teens who had left their Sterling-area mosque between Ramadan prayers to get food at a McDonald’s, Parker said.