A Muslim dentist visiting the United States from Glasgow, Scotland was set on fire by an unidentified assailant as she shopped on New York during the weekend. An investigation is now underway.

According to the woman, who remains anonymous, she was shopping on a crowded New York street when she started feeling intense heat on her left side. When she looked for the source of the heat, she was shocked to find that part of her blouse sleeve was on fire.

Though she was able to extinguish the flames quickly, the dentist was nonetheless shocked at the incident. She was ultimately left with a burned sleeve.

The woman was able to spot the suspect, however, as she immediately saw a man holding a lighter when she looked up after putting the flames out. According to NYPD spokesman Christopher Pisano, the man nonchalantly walked away after the incident.

"The male doesn't say anything and walks away," the NYPD spokesman said.

While the reasons for the crime have not been specifically identified, most are convinced that the attack was a hate crime. According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the incident carried all the signs of a classic attack on a Muslim.

Afaf Nasher, director of the council's New York chapter, stated that the incident is one of an increasing number of anti-Islamic incidents that have been happening in the United States lately.

"We are clearly seeing a spike in attacks on individual Muslims and Islamic institutions in New York and around the country, which should be of concern to all Americans. It is time for the mayor and the NYPD to put forward the necessary resources to investigate and prevent these attacks on the Muslim community," Nasher stated.

Authorities have not apprehended the suspect for the recent hate crime. However, surveillance footage showed the attacker wearing a black tank top, pants and a cap worn backwards. As of writing, however, no arrests had been made in connection with the incident. 

Tags: hate crime muslim muslim woman woman set on fire nyc