Slain Virginia teenager’s memorial was set on fire earlier today

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Slain Virginia teenager’s memorial was set on fire earlier today

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A memorial created in Washington DC’s Dupont Circle neighborhood for slain Virginia teenager, Nabra Hassanen, was set ablaze Wednesday morning.

Earlier this week, 17-year-old Nabra Hassanen was assaulted and killed after leaving a mosque in Fairfax County, Virginia. 22-year-old Darwin Martinez Torres was just charged with her murder.

At around 3:30 am Sunday, Nabra went missing after leaving a mosque in the Sterling area. She was walking with a friend when Torres drove by, got out of his car and assaulted her. Fairfax County police found her remains in a pond with a baseball bat nearby, just hours after the attack.

Two men were purportedly involved in the attack, and police are still looking for the second suspect. Police on Monday tweeted “We are NOT investigating this murder as a hate crime.”

According to DC Fire, responders arrived on site around 8:30 am today following calls reporting the vandalism of her memorial. The remains of the memorial were still on fire when when responders reached the scene on the Connecticut Ave NW side of Dupont Circle and they extinguished the flames. Dupont Circle is a hub of commuters and transistors in the morning, so it’s a wonder nobody intervened.

An arrest has been made in conjunction with the fire. DC Metropolitan Police announced that a 24-year-old man from South Carolina, Jonathan Soloman has been arrested.

In recent developments, it’s been confirmed that Nabra was attacked on two separate occasions in the early hours before her death — first in Virginia’s Loudon County and again in Fairfax County. Investigators have expanded the investigation to determine whether Nabra was sexually assaulted by her attacker.

Users took to Twitter to share their horror, disappointment, but seldom shock

Many, blaming President Trump’s term in office for the shift and increase in baseless hate crimes

Others, appalled that the investigation is that of road rage and not of a hate crime

Another vigil is scheduled in Nabra’s honor this evening at 6:30pm at Lake Anne Plaza in Reston, VA.

@TheTab