Second Man Arrested In Connection With 2021 Elmont Acid Attack, DA Says

MINEOLA, NY — A second man was indicted this week in connection with the 2021 acid-throwing attack that left then-21-year-old Nafiah Ikram blind in her right eye, the Nassau County District Attorney announced.

District Attorney Anne Donnelly said Tuesday that a second Brooklyn man, 31-year-old Shaquille Coke, had been arraigned on grand jury charges including two counts of first-degree assault, one fourth-degree count of criminal possession of a weapon and one count of unlawfully possessing noxious materials. Court documents show that Coke has pleaded guilty to all four charges, with his next court appearance scheduled for Apr. 20. If convicted, Coke could face up to 25 years in prison. His attorney, Kenneth Montgomery, could not be reached for comment in this story.

According to the district attorney, Coke is Ikram’s ex-boyfriend, and was at the time of the Mar. 17, 2021 attack. That night, at about 8:30 p.m., Ikram was driving home from work with her mom when she stayed behind to get her things out of the car. As she walked toward their home, prosecutors said Campbell approached Ikram and threw a liquid later determined to be 70 percent sulfuric acid at her, covering her face and chest, entering her throat and splashing her eye.

“This defendant was a jealous, possessive, and jilted former boyfriend of the victim, who could not accept that his months-long relationship had run its course. With his co-defendant and high school friend, Terrell Campbell, Shaquille Coke allegedly carried out a vicious and vindictive attack to mutilate the young woman who ended their relationship,” Donnelly said.

Campbell, who prosecutors said is a high school classmate of Coke’s, was already arrested and charged in connection with the attack. In the aftermath of the attack, prosecutors said Campbell rapped about it under the name “YungBasedPrince.”

According to cell phone records, prosecutors said Campbell and Coke met up about an hour before the attack. Prosecutors also said that Coke had created a fake Snapchat profile under the name “Wheezy Durel” in the weeks leading up to the attack, asking Ikram questions under the false identity about her relationship with Coke, including how serious it had been and her fidelity while the two were together.

After the attack, police said Coke sent “vulgar messages” to Ikram under a spoofed phone number, including calling her “Freddy Kruger,” in reference to the injuries she suffered in the attack. Those injuries, prosecutors said, included second and third-degree burns on her face, arms, wrists, shoulders, right eye and esophagus.

Coke was arrested Tuesday, prosecutors said. According to the DA’s office, Coke told police that he had told campbell that, “‘karma’ would take care of [Ikram],” and that he, “wanted something ‘devastating’ to happen to her.”

"Coke said that ‘karma’ would get Nafiah, but justice has come for him. I want to thank our partners at the Nassau County Police Department for their tireless detective work over the last five years to see the individuals allegedly responsible for this horrific attack held accountable," Donnelly said.