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Memorial for Slain Muslim Teen Set On Fire In Washington, D.C.

Nabra Hassenen was walking back to a Virginia mosque when she was assaulted and murdered by Darwin Martinez Torres. (Images courtesy of WTTG)

Washington, D.C., fire officials say the memorial for a Muslim teen found murdered after leaving a Virginia mosque last week was set on fire Wednesday, June 21, near Dupont Circle.

Authorities said they arrived at the scene around 8:30 this morning and discovered the fiery remains of the memorial for 17-year-old Nabra Hassanen at the Dupont Memorial Fountain, Fox 5 News reported. Fighters were eventually able to put out the flames.

Local police said 24-year-old Jonathon Soloman of South Carolina was arrested in connection with the blaze that destroyed the teen’s memorial. Soloman had set several items in the park on fire, authorities said, and did not appear to specifically target the items in Hassanen’s memorial. He was charged with vandalism, according to the news station.

Hassanen was walking with a group of about 15 teens as they headed back to the Al Dulles Area Muslim Society early Sunday morning when she was kidnapped and assaulted by 22-year-old Darwin Martinez Torres.

Police said the two reportedly got into an argument after Torres became enraged by another teen in the group who was riding a bicycle. The man then pulled his car over, chased down the group of teens with a baseball bat and assaulted Hassanen.

The teen’s body was found in a nearby pond later that day.

Authorities confirmed that Hassanen was assaulted twice before she was killed and said now they’re investigating whether she was sexually assaulted during one of the attacks.

A donation page has been launched to help the slain teen’s family.

 

 

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