Darwin Martinez Torres was taken into custody after driving “suspiciously” near a pond where the body was found.
A
Virginia man was arrested after a Muslim teenager he allegedly
confronted near a mosque in Sterling was later found dead in a pond.
The victim, identified by relatives to The Washington Post as Nabra Hassanen, 17, was walking with friends near the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Center about 4 a.m. Sunday after Ramadan prayers when they got into some kind of dispute with a man who drove past in a car.
The
friends told authorities that the driver then exited his car
brandishing a baseball bat. The teens scattered when the man allegedly
attacked Hassanen. Once the friends regrouped at the religious center,
mosque officials contacted police.
According to the Fairfax County Police Department, remains that investigators believe are the missing teen’s were
discovered on Sunday afternoon in a pond about two miles from the
mosque. An autopsy will confirm identity and cause of death. A baseball
bat was also recovered.
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. He’s
being held in Fairfax County jail, officials said.
The ADAMS Center urged
authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into Hassanen’s death,
and determine if it was, in fact, a hate crime. At the time of this
writing, investigators haven’t yet made that determination.
“We call on law enforcement to investigate and determine the motive of this crime and prosecute to the full extent of the law,” the center said in a statement. “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.”
Police
are also questioning Hassanen’s friends, who likely overheard the
dispute. The group was confronted near the mosque outside an IHOP restaurant,
the Post reported. The mosque has extra prayers at midnight and 2 a.m.,
and members frequently eat breakfast before they start their fast at
sunrise for Ramadan.
“I can’t think of a worse instance
to occur than the loss of a 17-year-old on Father’s Day, as the father
of a 17-year-old myself,” Loudoun County Sheriff Michael Chapman told
the Post.
Nabra’s mother, Sawsan Gazzar, wept at her home on Sunday night.
“I lost my daughter,” she told the Post, “my first reason for happiness.”
