Muslim woman set on fire on New York’s Fifth Avenue in possible hate crime

A Muslim woman wearing traditional garments had her clothes set on fire by a man with a lighter as she shopped on a crowded New York City street over the weekend, police said Monday.

A Muslim woman wearing traditional garments had her clothes set on fire by a man with a lighter as she shopped on a crowded New York City street over the weekend, police said Monday.

The 35-year-old was dressed in a hijab and standing outside a Valentino store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Saturday night when she felt heat on her left side, according to the New York City Police Department.

The man disappeared down a side street, leaving the startled woman with a “quarter-sized hole” in her blouse and no injuries, NYPD spokesman Christopher Pisano told The Washington Post.

Police are investigating the assault as a hate crime. No one has been arrested and no suspects have been identified. Pisano said the woman was visiting the city from another country.