Nabra's body was found later on Sunday in a Sterling pond.
Fairfax County Police Chief Edwin Roessler Jr. has spoken with The Associated Press about the possibility of a hate crime investigation in the beating death of Muslim teenager Nabra Hassanen in Virginia.
The vigil, organized by the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Florida and the Islamic Foundation of South Florida, came on the same day thousands gathered to pay their final respects to the 17-year-old in Virginia. He stood before Hassanen's closed coffin, covered by a black shroud decorated with quotes from the Quran.
Hassanen was returning to the All Dulles Area Muslim Society Center (ADAMS) with a group of friends around 3:30am on Sunday when she was beaten to death by a man with a baseball bat who had jumped out of a auto. The police say there's "no indication" that racial or ethnic slurs were exchanged. A Hassanen family spokesman said all the girls in the group were wearing Muslim headscarves and robes.
"These people do a good job", he said.
He acknowledged that the slaying has people grieving and fearful, but he praised the many people who turned out "in a fever" to search for the teen before police discovered her body Sunday afternoon.
"It's disgusting, the fact that this is being investigated as a road-rage incident as opposed to being a hate crime", said Baidan Ali, 20, of Annandale.
However, the attacks on Hassanen and her memorial have caused some to suspect bigotry was a factor.
Fairfax County Police did say "Torres took Nabra in his vehicle to a second location nearby in Loudoun County".
"We call on the Old Testament, which says, 'Have we all not one father that created us?' " Boxman said.
Seven killed in cable vehicle accident at Kashmir ski resort
According to reports, strong winds uprooted a pine tree that hit the Gondola, thus breaking the cable. The tree fell between two Gondola towers and snapped the cable which supports the cable vehicle .
Funeral attendees Wednesday were torn on whether they believed the attack was religiously motivated, or if Hassanen was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Most of the mourners were Muslim, but Christians and Jews attended as well. Hassanen was abducted by Torres outside her mosque at around 4 a.m., where she and a group of friends were gathering for Ramadan services.
Mohmoud Hassenen Aboras has not explained to his youngest daughter why her oldest sister has not been home since the early morning hours of last Sunday.
Nonetheless, the killing has come amid a number of violent attacks on Muslims, leaving many deeply suspicious that Hassan had been targeted for her religion. "I think a lot of people are moved across the country", Ahmad said. "It could have been anybody".
"We realize that we are in this together as one community", Magid added. Nabra's death means that all of us now have a diminished sense of safety; we all grieve with Nabra's parents, who lost their handsome and beloved daughter during Ramadan, on Father's Day.
Salah has lived in the verdant suburban community since 1985, and said she typically leaves her door unlocked because it's so safe.
Fairfax Police have charged 22-year-old Darwin Martinez Torres with murder.
It was said that Torres later caught up with the group brandishing a baseball bat.
The public defender's office, which was appointed to represent Martinez Torres, declined to comment. However, police and some witnesses said the attacker appeared to be agitated by a traffic argument, not religious hatred.
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