A South Carolina man has been arrested after a memorial for Nabra Hassanen, a 17-year-old Virginian who was killed while walking home from a mosque with her friends on Sunday, was set on fire, a Fox News affiliate reports.
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A man was arrested after a memorial for the slain Virginia teen Nabra Hassanen was set on fire
Police say Nabra Hassanen was killed by Darwin Martinez Torres, a 22-year-old from Sterling, Virginia, after a traffic dispute.
Charred remains of a memorial for Nabra Hassanen.
Thousands of mourners had gathered in Virginia in an outpouring of support for the teen, who was described as bright and generous by those who knew her, according to The Associated Press.
But flowers left at Hassanen's memorial at the Dupont Circle fountain in Washington, DC, were set ablaze on Wednesday. Police have arrested 24-year-old Jonathan Solomon of South Carolina in connection with the incident.
"At this time, the incident does not appear to be motivated by bias," a police spokeswoman told the New York Daily News.
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Police told the Fox News affiliate that Solomon was setting several items in the park on fire and didn't appear to be targeting the memorial.
Darwin Martinez Torres, a 22-year-old from Sterling, Virginia, has been charged with murder in connection with Hassanen's death. Police say Hassanen was killed after a traffic dispute and that the cause of the killing was "road rage."
"It appears that the suspect became so enraged over this traffic argument that it escalated into deadly violence," Julie Parker, a spokeswoman for the Fairfax County Police Department, told a news conference, according to Reuters.
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