A man has been arrested after setting a fire on the memorial for Nabra Hassanen, a Muslim teen killed near a Mosque in Virginia during a suspected road-rage incident.
The 17-year-old was walking to a mosque early Sunday with a group of friends.
WTTG reported that DC Fire responded to a scene at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday and were able to extinguish the fire.
Police said that Jonathon Soloman, 24, of South Carolina, was arrested in connection to the incident. United States Park Police said Soloman did not appear to be intentionally setting fire to the memorial, but was lighting different items of the park on fire. He was charged with vandalism.
The Associated Press reported that Fairfax County police spokeswoman Julie Parker said at a news conference Monday that "Nothing indicates that (Hassanen's death) was motivated by race or by religion. It appears the suspect became so enraged over this traffic argument that it escalated into deadly violence."
Darwin Martinez Torres, 22, has been charged with murder following Hassanen's death.
“This tragic case appears to be the result of a road rage incident involving the suspect, who was driving and who is now charged with murder, and a group of teenagers who was walking and riding bikes in and along a roadway,” police said in a statement.
Some questioned the lack of a hate crime investigation, according to The Associated Press.
"Road rage. Indeed. If you think for a minute that her appearance had nothing to do with this crime, you're lying to yourself," attorney and Muslim activist Rabia Chaudry said on Twitter Monday.
Fairfax County Police Chief Edwin C. Roessler Jr. told The AP authorities are investigating whether Hassannen was sexually assaulted.
A funeral service for Hassanen was held Wednesday afternoon.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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