Cops release CCTV of suspect after Brit hijab-wearing woman is set on fire in New York before 9/11 ceremony
The victim refused medical treatment and is believed to be still in New York
A BRITISH tourist was set on fire while wearing a Muslim hijab headscarf in New York.
Dentist Nemariq Al- Hinai was attacked just hours before the 9/11 memorial ceremony.
She felt burning on her arm while window shopping outside the Valentino fashion store on Fifth Avenue.
She turned to find her blouse had been set alight and had to frantically pat out the flames.
Nemariq, 35, then saw a man beside her holding a cigarette lighter.
CCTV footage captured him walking from the scene wearing a vest and baseball cap.
Cops believe Nemariq — on holiday from Glasgow — could have been targeted because she was a Muslim.
The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is now investigating.
A source told The Sun: “The victim noticed the sleeve of her blouse was on fire. She observed a man standing next to her with a lighter in his hand. The suspect did not say anything to her — he just swaggered off.
“The victim refused medical treatment. The hole in her clothing was about the size of a quarter coin. No arrests have been made.”
Nemariq was attacked at 9pm last Saturday ahead of the following day’s ceremony to mark the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 atrocity.
The CCTV pictures showed the suspect swinging his arms as he walked off.
Nemariq, believed to work in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, is said to still be in the US.
Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, urged a full investigation.
He said: “I would obviously be concerned because it’s symptomatic of the overall rise in Islamophobic sentiment in our society.”
Last Thursday, a 32-year-old woman was arrested in Brooklyn on suspicion of attacking two Muslim mothers.