Nafiah Ikram Acid Attack: Two Arrests and Statute Deadline

The Nafiah Ikram acid attack refers to the March 17, 2021, assault outside the Elmont, New York, home of a 21-year-old Hofstra University pre-med student, who was doused with 70% sulfuric acid by a masked man as she walked from her car to her front door. The attack left Ikram permanently blind in her right eye and severely burned across her face, arms, and throat. It went unsolved for nearly five years. In early 2026, Nassau County prosecutors arrested Terrell Campbell, who they say threw the acid, and Shaquille Coke, Ikram’s ex-boyfriend, who they say paid Campbell to do it after Ikram ended their relationship.¹²

What Happened That Night

Ikram had just finished a shift at a pharmacy in Baldwin, Long Island. Around 8:30 p.m., as she stepped out of her car in front of her family’s Elmont home, a man in a hooded sweatshirt, mask, and gloves ran up behind her and threw a cup of liquid into her face. The liquid was 70% sulfuric acid. It covered her face and chest, ran into her throat, and splashed into her right eye. The attacker fled in a red Nissan Altima.¹²

Ikram collapsed on the lawn, screaming for her father, who recognized the smell as acid. She was taken to Nassau University Medical Center and admitted to the intensive care unit with second- and third-degree burns to her face, arms, wrists, shoulders, right eye, and esophagus.¹ She later said it felt like her “face was fully on fire” and her “chest being ripped out of my soul.”³

The Injuries and the Long Recovery

Ikram lost vision permanently in her right eye. In the first weeks she could not eat or speak. Some sight returned in her left eye, though months later she described it as “cloudy and hazy” and said she could make out only light and rough shapes.³²

She spent the year after the attack in and out of the hospital, undergoing procedures on her eye, nose, and skin.⁴ Her first major reconstructive surgery came in June 2022: a four-hour operation to remove scarring on the right side of her face and replace it with skin grafts taken from her shoulder. The damage to her throat required repeated procedures to dilate her esophagus.⁵ Ikram has said the process was “very physically painful, mentally exhausting” and that she has nightmares and has been treated for PTSD. As of 2026, she still lives with poor vision, facial scarring, and constant pain.⁶

Why the Case Sat Unsolved for Almost Five Years

Initial surveillance footage showed only a blurred figure and a red Nissan Altima. Investigators also said they had trouble getting timely access to data held by technology companies that might have identified the attacker.⁷ As months turned into years, Ikram’s father, Sheikh Ikram, publicly criticized the pace of the investigation, saying police “did not really make us feel that they are really doing anything.”⁸ A neighborhood GoFundMe raised more than $500,000 for her medical bills, and Nassau County Crime Stoppers eventually offered a $50,000 reward for information.⁹

How Investigators Identified Terrell Campbell

The break came in late 2025, when a tipster contacted police. That tip led investigators to Terrell Campbell, a 29-year-old Brooklyn man who worked in flower delivery and rapped under the name “YungBasedPrince.” The tipster is set to receive the $50,000 Crime Stoppers reward, and authorities have not disclosed the person’s identity.²

Once they had a name, the case moved quickly. Investigators found a red 2015 Nissan Altima registered to a Campbell family member parked outside his home, matching the vehicle seen fleeing the scene. His internet search history from the minutes right after the 2021 attack included queries such as “how do I remove sulfuric acid from my car’s fabric?” and “Can you recover from a sulfuric acid attack?”²⁷

Prosecutors also cited a music video Campbell himself uploaded to YouTube in October 2023, more than two years after the attack. The song, “Obsidian,” contained the line: “On the street in the night like a hitman assassin, trying to run up and have your face burned in acid.” The video had fewer than 100 views when he was arrested. Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly called it “sickening, cruel and brazen” and said Campbell appeared to have used the attack to promote his music.²¹⁰

Campbell was arrested on February 10, 2026, and charged with two counts of assault, criminal possession of a weapon, and unlawful possession of noxious material. He pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail.⁷ Reacting to his arrest, Ikram said, “I’m glad that I’ve closed the chapter on the uncertainty and the safety and the looking over the shoulder.”²

How the Ex-Boyfriend Was Tied to the Attack

From the start, authorities said they were looking at whether Campbell had been hired. That inquiry led to Shaquille Coke, then 31, Ikram’s ex-boyfriend. According to prosecutors, Coke and Ikram dated at Hofstra from late 2020 to early 2021. Ikram has said they “didn’t have a serious relationship.” When she broke it off, prosecutors say, Coke could not accept it. He reportedly believed she had been unfaithful and, in the weeks before the attack, created a fake Snapchat profile under the name “Wheezy Durel” to press her about her loyalty. In one of those exchanges she told him she did not consider their relationship serious.¹¹

Prosecutors say Coke then recruited Campbell, a high school friend from Brooklyn, to carry out the attack. Cell phone records showed the two men met roughly an hour before Campbell threw the acid, and prosecutors say Coke drove the getaway car. According to the DA’s office, Coke told police he had told Campbell he wanted something “devastating” to happen to Ikram and wanted “karma to teach her a lesson.”¹¹²

After the attack, prosecutors allege, Coke used a spoofed phone number to send Ikram vulgar messages, called her “Freddy Krueger” in reference to her burns, and told her “karma” would get her. He also allegedly built up a “fake scenario” to convince her he was protective and that she should stay with him.¹⁶

Coke was arraigned on March 24, 2026, and charged with two counts of first-degree assault, criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, and unlawful possession of noxious materials. He pleaded not guilty and was remanded without bail. If convicted, both defendants face up to 25 years in prison.¹ Ikram attended Coke’s arraignment. Learning that her former boyfriend had allegedly arranged the attack, she said: “The fact that he thinks that he had the right to do that in itself and then create a whole fake scenario and all of that to make me deceived and think that he’s protective and I should stay with him…that in itself, you’re delusional and diabolical.”⁶

A Statute of Limitations That Nearly Ran Out

The arrests came just before New York’s five-year statute of limitations for the underlying assault charges would have expired. In April 2026, Nassau County Legislator Carrié Solages called on the state legislature to eliminate or substantially extend that limitations period for assaults involving acid or other corrosive agents, and to raise the penalties for such attacks.¹³

Where the Case Stands

Both Campbell and Coke remain in custody without bail after pleading not guilty. Coke was next due in court in April 2026.⁶ Ikram, who had been studying to become an obstetrician or pediatrician when she was attacked, has said she may redirect her career toward helping burn victims.³

1
Nassau County District Attorney’s Office. Acid Attack Arrest Press Release
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CNN. New York Acid Attack Arrest
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ABC7 New York. Acid Attack Nafiah Ikram Hofstra Elmont
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NBC News. NY College Student Burned in Suspected Acid Attack
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Newsday. Elmont Acid Attack Nafiah Ikram
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ABC7 New York. Victims Ex-Boyfriend Arrested in Elmont Acid Attack
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CBS News New York. Acid Attack Arrest Long Island Elmont
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WRIC. Family of Acid Attack Victim Says Cops Not Doing Enough
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Fox 5 New York. Reward Hofstra Student Nafiah Ikram Acid Attack
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New York Post. Wannabe Rapper Busted for Throwing Acid in College Students Face
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Newsday. Elmont Acid Attack Nafiah Ikram
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New York Post. Ex Busted in Acid Attack on NY Student
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Nassau County Government. Legislator Solages Statement on Acid Attack Case