Virginian Nabra Hassanen’s body was recovered from a pond on Father’s Day.
The 17-year-old woman was with a group of friends; they were leaving the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Center when a man confronted the teenagers. He had a baseball bat in his hands as he approached them, and, while Hassanen’s friends ran away, she was entangled in conflict. The two were arguing until he reportedly hit her repeatedly. Her lifeless body was later found floating in a pond.
Authorities arrested 22-year-old Darwin Martinez Torres, the main suspect in the crime. “As a helicopter, police dogs and rescue teams searched for the teen, an officer spotted Darwin Martinez Torres, 22, ‘driving suspiciously’ in the area. Torres was arrested and charged with murder on Sunday,” an article states. The ADAMS Center asked law enforcement to not just ask Torres standard questions, but to investigate his intentions.
Was the murder a hate crime?
17 year old, Nabra Hassanen, was assaulted & killed as she walked home after prayers at a mosque near Washington DC.#RIPNabra pic.twitter.com/5tqOWLlGXB
— Mariam Veiszadeh (@MariamVeiszadeh) June 19, 2017
Hassanen’s death is still under investigation, but one thing’s for sure: instead of celebrating Father’s Day, her mom and dad were (and still are) grieving the loss of their daughter. “I lost my daughter, my first reason for happiness,” Hassanen’s mother tells The Huffington Post. Hassanen was killed during the fasting month of Ramadan, which made her death even more surreal and sad. Not only are her parents in mourning, but so is the entire Muslim community.
“We are devastated and heartbroken as our community undergoes and processes this traumatic event. It is a time for us to come together to pray and care for our youth,” the ADAMS Center says. Hopefully, police get their answers soon. Hassanen deserves justice, and her family and friends deserve their peace of mind. They lost a beautiful woman on a beautiful holiday, which, regardless of Torres’ reason, will never be justified.