A Hofstra University student severely burned in an acid attack last year has described the pain she still endures and questions why Long Island police aren’t taking the investigation seriously.
NBC 4 News reports that Nafiah Ikram was walking into her Elmont home in March when a person ran up to her and threw liquid that turned out to be acid in her face. Ikram is a Muslim woman.
In a statement released by the New York Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY), she stated that at the time of her attack, she suffered severe injuries to her face, eyes, neck, and hands.
“Ikram was rushed to the hospital,” the statement reads. “She suffered severe burns to her face, eyes, neck, and hands and spent 15 days in the hospital.”
The 22-year-old Muslim woman has undergone multiple surgeries over the past year. She said Thursday her recovery had been difficult, and she has lost vision in her right eye.
“It’s been very physically painful, mentally exhausting. I was having nightmares up until this morning,” Nafiah Ikram said at a news conference Thursday. “It’s been very tiring.”
Sherina Mohamed, Ikram’s mother, asked if detectives were doing everything they could to find her daughter’s attacker.
“I can’t believe that in the [21st] century, with all the high technology, with all that they’re doing … I don’t know,” Mohamed said. “Sometimes it feels like maybe the detectives maybe didn’t take it seriously.”
The horrific hate crime on the 21 years old, Nafiah Ikram, has left her legally blind in 1eye. this is the 3rd attack on Pakistanis in the US. The racist ghost of the ex president still lurks. Hoping 4 a swift passing of the Asian hate crime bill #StopAsianHate #stopislamophobia pic.twitter.com/p8a2Rdfw1C
— Anam Mahmud Khan (@AnamMahmud1) April 23, 2021
Ikram agreed with her mother’s sentiments on the situation, stating that if the police did a better job, they would have a better idea of why this happened to her.
“I’m sure that if the police asked around and did a better job,” Ikram said. “they probably would had a better idea of what really went down.”
Although the Nassau County Police Department declined to answer questions about the investigation, Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said the investigation is still ongoing.
“The Nassau County police continue an intense and comprehensive investigation into the heinous act that took place one year ago when our victim, Nafiah Ikram, was assaulted with a hazardous substance,” Ryder said. “Numerous inter-agency resources have been assigned and continue to collaborate to bring the person responsible to justice.”
The Nassau County Crime Stoppers and the FBI offer rewards totaling $40,000 for tips that lead to arrests.
