Police said Hassanen was bludgeoned with a baseball bat early Sunday by a motorist who drove up to about 15 Muslim teenagers as they walked or bicycled along a road. Family members said she and other girls in her group were wearing hijabs, traditional headscarves worn by Muslim women, at the time of the attack. Police believe one teen on a bike began arguing with Martinez Torres as he approached the group in his vehicle. According to police, Hassanen and the other teens got into some kind of altercation with 22-year-old Darwin Martinez Torres, who had been driving by in his vehicle. [Martinez] Torres was able to catch Nabra [Hassanen]. A metal baseball bat was found near the body.
Lamia Sarver of McLean said the tragedy hits home because she has a daughter Hassanen's age. An autopsy found that Nabra suffered blunt-force trauma to her upper body.
Her funeral was held at 1:30 p.m.at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) in Sterling, Va.
Shahnaz Aurazaki of Sterling said she lived in the area for 32 years, and it was always safe, but "now every day you see something on the news". According to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, hate crimes like these have risen 20 percent in the past year. "So generous, so bright, so lovely, so energetic, so giving, so caring".
Hassanen's friends urged the public not to forget her name, and it's important that we don't - not just because Hassanen was a bright young girl whose life needlessly ended too soon, but because Muslim women should not have to endure violence or harassment simply due to their religion. Another crowd of several thousand attended a community vigil on Wednesday evening.
Washington D.C. residents gathered at the capital's Dupont Circle on Tuesday night to grieve the 17-year-old, who was walking back to her mosque in Fairfax County when she was attacked and possibly sexually assaulted by a road rage driver.
Police said the killing was an act of road rage, not a hate crime.
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The police's statement on Monday added, "If during the course of this ongoing criminal investigation, information or evidence later surfaces that would indicate this was hate-motivated, detectives would certainly ensure appropriate charges are filed".
"I hope nothing happening to the other families, like what happened to my daughter", he said. "We lost a 17-year-old innocent girl who was loved by so many", said Misha Yasar.
Most of the mourners were Muslim, but Christians and Jews attended as well. Forget the religion. We are human beings.
"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.
The public defender's office, which was appointed to represent Martinez Torres, declined to comment.
Currently, Torres, a confirmed illegal immigrant, is in Fairfax County Jail, and Carissa Cutrell, a spokesperson for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, told the Daily Beast that ICE has asked for custody of Torres after his release from jail.
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