Florida

Candlelight Vigil For Slain Virginia Teen To Be Held In South Florida

A candlelight vigil will be held in Sunrise this Wednesday to remember Nabra Hassanen, a 17-year-old Virginia girl who was assaulted and then murdered on Sunday in an incident police are attributing to road rage.

The vigil is just one of several nationwide ceremonies that are calling for justice for Hassanen, who was a sophomore in high school at the time of her death. The Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Islamic Foundation of South Florida are organizing Wednesday’s vigil in South Florida.

“We are not begging for justice; we are demanding that any and all perpetrators are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Wilredo Ruiz, communications director of CAIR-Florida, said in a statement.

Hassanen was heading to an all-night prayer session at her local mosque when she got into a dispute with a motorist, police said. The man proceeded to assault her and she became separated from her friends.

The suspect, who police identified as 22-year-old Darwin Martinez Torres, allegedly beat Hassanen with a baseball bat. Her body was found in a pond about 2 to 3 miles away from the altercation, according to police.

Torres has been arrested and charged with murder, police said. Authorities are not investigating the incident as a hate crime, saying they believe Hassanen was a victim of road rage.

On social media, users are remembering Hassanen under the hashtag #JusticeForNabra. Wednesday’s vigil in Sunrise will be held at the Islamic Foundation of South Florida at 5455 NW 108th Ave. It starts at 7 p.m.

To see a list of vigils nationwide, click here.

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