Pakistani College Student Speaks Out, Police Seek Suspect After Acid Attack in NY

Pakistani College Student Speaks Out, Police Seek Suspect After Acid Attack in NY
Editorial Staff
April 22, 2021
The Nassau County Police Department (NCPD) is looking for the suspect who threw acid on a Pakistani woman in New York in March.
Nafiah Fatima Ikram, 21, felt something wasn’t right when she noticed a man standing at the corner of her Arlington Avenue residence in Elmont, New York the evening of March 17, she told ABC7’s CeFaan Kim
Surveillance video footage caught the moment the Hofstra University pre-med student was walking to her front door after work when an unidentified male suspect ran across her lawn to pour a dark-colored substance on her.
She was rushed to the hospital, suffering burns to her eyes, face, chest and arms, NextShark previously reported.
Nafiah called the experience “worst than death” and felt intense pain.
“I felt my chest being ripped out of my soul. That’s how much pain I was in,” she said.
Doctors are not sure if she will be able to regain her full vision.
Nafiah and her father, Sheikh Ikram, believe it was a pre-planned, targeted attack instead of a hate crime, according to PIX11.
“I would like to think that I’m a very nice and friendly outgoing person,” she said. “What could I have possibly done or said for someone to want to hurt me this much.”
The student is now considering changing her course of study to help burn victims following her assault.
“Top Chef” host Padma Lakshmi has known the family for over a decade as Sheikh is her personal driver. Lakshmi took to Instagram to post about the incident on Tuesday, urging the public to donate and find the attacker.
Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder vowed to catch the suspect and stated, “We have no evidence at this time to say it was a hate crime, we have no evidence at this time to say that it was not a hate crime, we treat our victims the same.”
The suspect is still at large and said to be 6 feet and 2 inches, has a skinny build and wore a black colored sweatshirt with a hood, according to the NCPD. He fled in a red 2013-2015 Nissan Altima that has fog lights.
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The NCPD also updated a reward for information on the suspect and the assault, raising it to $20,000 from its original $5,000, according to ABC 7.
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Anyone with information is urged to contact Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS or visit nassaucounty.crimestoppersweb.com.
Featured Images via @cefaan (left) and GoFundMe (right)
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