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About two dozen people gathered on the steps of the Stearns County courthouse in St. Cloud Monday to remember Nabra Hassanen, a 17-year-old Muslim teenager slain in Virginia.

 as she walked back to her mosque after a pre-dawn meal with friends. 


The vigil was organized by Faisa Omar of St. Cloud, a recent Apollo High School graduate. She said she was moved by Hassanen's story, especially because she is just a year older than Hassanen.


"When I read what happened to her, it was really sad, and it just really touched my heart," Omar said. "It wasn't getting a lot of attention, and my friends were really saddened by it. And we decided to just come together and make a stand for her."


A 22-year-old man is being held on second-degree murder charges in her death. Authorities have described her killing as 


Still, Omar worries that Muslim women who wear a hijab as Hassanen did could be a target.


"I feel like just because it didn't happen in Minnesota doesn't mean it can't happen in Minnesota," she said. "I just want to bring attention to it. ... When a Muslim girl is killed, we all feel that. We all feel the pain that the family is feeling."

Crime, Law and Justice

Kirsti Marohn

Author

About two dozen people gathered on the steps of the Stearns County courthouse in St. Cloud Monday to remember Nabra Hassanen, a 17-year-old Muslim teenager slain in Virginia.


Vigil held in St. Cloud for slain Virginia teen

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