Prosecutors say the victim’s former boyfriend arranged the ambush weeks after their breakup.
MINEOLA, NY — Nassau County prosecutors said Tuesday that the ex-boyfriend of a Long Island woman who was badly burned in a 2021 acid attack was arrested and charged with helping plan the assault, nearly five years after the ambush outside her family’s Elmont home.
Shaquille Coke, 31, of Brooklyn, was arraigned on charges that include assault, criminal possession of a weapon and unlawfully possessing noxious materials in the attack on Nafiah Ikram, now 26. Prosecutors say the case turned sharply in February, when authorities arrested another Brooklyn man, Terrell Campbell, and then tied Coke to what they described as a revenge plot after Ikram ended a short relationship with him. The new arrest gives investigators a second defendant in a case that had gone unsolved for years and drew public attention across Long Island.
According to prosecutors, the attack happened on March 17, 2021, as Ikram, then a 21-year-old Hofstra University student, returned home from work with her mother. She had just stepped into the driveway of her family’s house in Elmont when a hooded man ran up and threw a cup of liquid into her face, officials said. The substance was later identified by prosecutors as sulfuric acid. Ikram has said in earlier public remarks that she first thought someone had tossed a warm drink on her. Within moments, she realized something far worse had happened as her skin began to burn and she screamed for help. Prosecutors said the attack unfolded only steps from the front door and lasted seconds, but left permanent injuries. In court Tuesday, Assistant District Attorney Brian Rodriguez said Coke “couldn’t deal with” the breakup and set in motion what prosecutors called a deliberate act of retaliation.
Ikram suffered second- and third-degree burns to her face, chest and arms, prosecutors said, and lost sight in one eye. Authorities have also said the corrosive liquid damaged her throat, leaving her with lasting medical problems that required repeated treatment and surgeries. Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said Coke allegedly told Campbell that he wanted something “devastating” to happen to Ikram. Prosecutors further alleged that Coke sat in the car during the attack and waited for Campbell to return after carrying it out. Coke pleaded not guilty and was ordered held without bail. His lawyer argued in court that the case is circumstantial and attacked the credibility of Campbell, who also has pleaded not guilty. Some details remain unresolved in public, including exactly how prosecutors say the acid was obtained and whether additional electronic evidence will be introduced as the case moves forward.
The case had become one of Long Island’s most closely watched unsolved assaults. Surveillance video released after the attack showed a masked man approaching Ikram outside her home and fleeing after throwing the liquid. For years, police and prosecutors publicly asked for help identifying the attacker, while Ikram and her family continued to speak about the damage the assault had done to her health and daily life. She has undergone facial reconstruction and treatment for internal injuries, and she has described the recovery as long and painful. The case drew support from advocates and neighbors, and a reward was offered as investigators tried to identify the person responsible. When the first arrest came in February, officials said the break followed new evidence that revived a case that was nearing a key legal deadline. Prosecutors said Campbell later drew attention to himself through a music video and other digital evidence that investigators used to build the case.
Authorities say the investigation now points to a two-man plan, with Campbell accused of carrying out the physical attack and Coke accused of orchestrating it. Campbell, 29, was charged last month with assault and related offenses. Prosecutors have said he was linked to the crime through video evidence, phone and internet activity, and statements gathered during the investigation. In Coke’s case, prosecutors now allege motive, planning and participation as the driver. Nassau County court records reported by local outlets show he was arraigned before Judge Joy Watson on a grand jury indictment Tuesday. He faces two counts of first-degree assault along with the weapon and noxious-material charges described by prosecutors. If convicted on the top count, he could face a lengthy prison sentence. Publicly available reports did not fully spell out his next court date Tuesday night, but the case is expected to return to Nassau County court as prosecutors turn over evidence and defense lawyers challenge the state’s account.
Outside court, Ikram told reporters she was still processing the arrest. “It’s a lot right now,” she said, adding that she was trying to decompress and sort through her emotions after the latest turn in the case. Her brief remarks reflected both the shock of seeing a second defendant charged and the length of the wait that led to that moment. The attack changed her appearance and her health when she was still in college, and the case remained open through years in which no suspect was publicly identified. Prosecutors have cast the arrest of her former boyfriend as a major step toward accountability, but the criminal case is still in its early stages. For now, one defendant is accused of throwing the acid, another is accused of planning the ambush, and Ikram remains the central witness in a prosecution built around a violent attack that stunned her community and scarred her life.
The case stood Tuesday with both men charged, Coke held without bail and prosecutors presenting the attack as a planned act of revenge. The next milestone will come in Nassau County court, where lawyers are expected to address evidence, scheduling and the path toward trial in the weeks ahead.
Author note: Last updated March 25, 2026.