A Long Island medical student whose face was badly disfigured after an acid attack a year ago criticized police for failing to catch the attacker, saying they “didn’t take it seriously.”
Nafia Ikram, 22, had just returned home from work at a local CVS store around 8:20 pm on March 17, 2021, when an attacker ran up behind her on her family’s driveway in Elmonte and doused her with acid.
A medical student at Hofstra University suffered severe burns to her face, which led to multiple surgeries. She went blind in her left eye after the acid melted her contact lenses, but despite the horrific crime she endured, no arrests were made.
A year has passed since the horrific incident, and Ikram, along with his family, said that the police did not do enough to get the suspect off the streets.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Ikram said that investigators even “legitimately accused me of lying and hiding information.”
Nafia Ikram, 22, is asking for renewed efforts to arrest the man who threw acid on her at her Elmont, Long Island home a year ago.
The medical student came out on Thursday with her family, saying the police hadn’t done enough to get the suspect off the streets.
“I think they didn’t take it seriously at first,” Ikram added. “They went through my social media, my text messages and everything, but they couldn’t find any leads.
“This suggests that either they didn’t try hard enough, or this person is really good at hiding,” she said. “We don’t want this to happen to someone else’s child. The fact that this person is still there, even my family, friends, my environment, my neighbors, they are all scared. They lock their doors.
Ikram and her family rallied with community leaders on Thursday, pleading with Nassau County Police and the FBI to redouble their efforts to find the suspect.
“The police department never took this case seriously,” said her father, Sheikh Ikram. ‘So please. Help us find this animal. My daughter suffers every single day and we are going through very hard times. It was someone who really knows her well, who has very good information.”
As a result of the attack, Ikram is badly disfigured, and just two weeks ago she underwent countless operations.
Nafia received severe burns (left) of her face, which led to numerous operations. She was also blind in her left eye.
Nafia is studying medicine at Hofstra University and plans to become a doctor.
Nafia lost sight in her left eye because the contact lenses dissolved in her eyes from the acid.
“It was very physically painful, mentally exhausting,” Ikram said on Thursday. “Until this morning, I had nightmares.”
“First, I had a reconstruction of the right eyelid,” Ikram said. “In the intervals between operations, every two weeks I had an expansion of the esophagus. I couldn’t eat because my esophagus had lost its flexibility, so something small, like a pill, got stuck in my throat.
“There will be a lot of plastic surgery,” she added. “If you ask me in five years, there will probably be 25 surgeries.”
Ikram lost sight in one eye after acid caused contact lenses to dissolve in her eyes.
Horrifying surveillance footage released shortly after the attack shows the moment Ikram arrived home and the suspect runs up to Ikram and pours liquid on her before running away.
Police released video footage and a photo of the car they believed the suspect left in, but no one was arrested in connection with the attack.
Horrifying CCTV footage shows the moment Nafia arrived at her home in Elmonte. A man (on the right) can be seen running up behind her and throwing acid in her face.
According to the New York Post, Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder defended police efforts to find Ikram’s attacker.
“Nassau County Police are continuing an intensive and comprehensive investigation into the heinous act that took place a year ago in which our victim, Nafia Ikram, was attacked with a dangerous substance,” the statement said.
“Numerous multi-agency resources have been assigned and continue to work together to bring the perpetrator to justice,” Ryder said. Nassau County criminals and the FBI have equally increased the reward to $40,000 for clues that could lead to the arrest of the person or persons responsible.
“We continue to work with the Ikram family and encourage anyone with information to call Crime Squad at 1-800-244-TIPS,” he said.