Renewed calls for arrest in Elmont acid attack, one year later

One year after an unknown assailant threw acid at an Elmont woman, leaving her blind in one eye, she and her family say they are frustrated that her attacker hasn't been caught.

Nafiah Ikram, 22, standing with her parents in the backyard of their home Thursday, had tears in her eyes as she spoke about her struggles since the attack on March 17, 2021.

"I lost vision in my right eye, still nothing has been improving, except my skin is healing," said Ikram, a Hofstra University premed student. "I just had surgery last week. I’m going to be starting the plastic surgery process in a few months. It’s been very physically painful, mentally exhausting. I was having nightmares up until this morning."

On the night of the attack, Ikram said she was walking up the driveway of the Arlington Avenue home she shares with her mother and father at about 8:30 p.m. when the assailant came from behind and threw liquid on her face and arms. The liquid, Ikram said at the time, felt like room temperature juice, but she later discovered it was an unknown type of acid.

Nearly three months after the attack, Ikram said she had eye surgery for a cornea infection related to the attack and could not eat solid foods because of facial wounds.

The assault,, which was captured on surveillance camera, has gained widespread attention, with the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and elected officials calling for a hate crime investigation.

"I think in the beginning, they didn’t take it seriously and even up until now," said Ikram, adding that police had her phone for five weeks looking through it.

Sherina Mohamed, Ikram’s mother, didn’t expect the anniversary of her daughter’s attack, would result in authorities still looking for the person.

"I can’t believe that in the 21st century, with all the high technology, with all that they’re doing," she said. "I don’t know, sometimes I feel like maybe the detectives, maybe they didn’t take it seriously."

Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said in a statement Thursday that police "continue an intense and comprehensive investigation into the heinous act."

"Numerous interagency resources have been assigned and continue to collaborate to bring the person responsible to justice," Ryder said. "Nassau County Crime Stoppers and the FBI have both equally increased their reward to a total of $40,000 for tips that could lead to an arrest of the person(s) responsible."

At the time, Ryder said the suspect was described as a male, 6-foot-2 with a "skinny build," who was wearing a hooded black sweatshirt and gloves. A red 2013-2015 Nissan Altima with yellow New York license plates was seen on camera heading east on Arlington Avenue and at multiple locations, Ryder said.

Acid attacks are unique crimes that typically don't happen in the United States, said Elizabeth Jeglic, a professor of psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Jeglic said acid attacks are considered a gender-based crime, mostly happening against women in developing countries.

Acid Survivors Trust International, a United Kingdom-based nonprofit dedicated to ending acid violence at a global level, reports the U.K. has per capita among the highest rates of recorded acid attacks in the world.

"It’s considered to be a crime of patriarchal society in that it’s a way of harming women where they think it can harm them the most because that’s what women have to offer is their beauty, and their prospects for a future marriage are going to be impacted if they’re disfigured," she said.

Ikram, who expects to have more surgeries in the next few years, said she's attending Hofstra University, majoring in premed, but will plan to continue her schooling part time.

"Between surgeries and doctor's appointments, it's very hard to manage full time," she said. "I also have my parents taking me to the building of where I am because I don't feel safe being on campus in between classes by myself."