Shaquille Coke, of Brooklyn, ex-boyfriend of Nafiah Ikram, charged with assaulting her in Elmont acid attack

The ex-boyfriend of an Elmont college student who was splashed in the face with sulfuric acid outside her home in a 2021 attack was indicted in the assault.

Prosecutors said Shaquille Coke, 31, of Brooklyn, planned the attack with a high school friend because he could not accept his breakup with Nafiah Ikram and wanted to humiliate her.

It marks the second arrest in the case, following the indictment last month of Terrell Campbell, 29, of Brooklyn, who is charged with throwing the acid at Ikram on March 17, 2021. Prosecutors said Coke drove Campbell to Ikram's home to carry out the attack.

Coke, a former Hofstra student and Ikram's ex-boyfriend, was arraigned Tuesday in Nassau County Court in Mineola. He pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault, criminal possession of a weapon and unlawful possession of noxious material.

Campbell pleaded not guilty last month to the same charges. Both men were remanded to the Nassau County jail and face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.

In the weeks after the attack, prosecutors said Coke used a spoofed or falsified number to taunt Ikram with sexually derogatory messages and called her Freddy Krueger, a horror movie character.

"The attack was meant to terrorize her. It was meant to mutilate and humiliate her," Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly said. "But this courageous young woman is stronger than these two men, and although tragically, she told us she spent years looking over her shoulder because of their actions. I hope after these indictments, she will never feel that way again."

Ikram wiped tears from her eyes at the arraignment. As she left the courthouse she said she was relieved after the arrest.

"It’s a lot right now. It’s a big shock ... I’m trying to just decompress and figure out how I’m feeling emotionally, so that’s all I can say right now," Ikram said. "I’m happy that this day has come."

She said that she and Coke didn't have a serious relationship.

Police had initially interviewed Coke twice, in August 2021, and he made up a complicated false story to distance himself from the attack while denying he knew Campbell, prosecutors said.

Coke's attorney Kenneth Montgomery said Coke had no previous felony criminal record.

Montgomery argued that Coke should be tried separately from Campbell and suggested Campbell may be cooperating with authorities.

"This is someone who did not run," he said, after being questioned by police about "the most serious and egregious crimes, one of them maiming the face of a young woman who did not deserve that," Montgomery said. "They didn't find enough until they arrested the co-defendant."

Donnelly said she was not aware of any cooperation in the case from Campbell, who did not know Ikram. 

Coke, who graduated from Hofstra and Pacific College of Health and Science in Manhattan, was three weeks away from becoming a registered nurse, Montgomery said.

Prosecutors said Coke was trying to evade police, including telling his current girlfriend he may need to "lay low," and stay at her apartment in case police were seeking to arrest him.

"Coke knew where Nafiah lived, where she worked. He knew her work schedule," Donnelly said. "Coke is the only link between Nafiah and her attacker."

Prosecutors said Campbell waited outside Ikram’s Elmont house as Ikram, a pre-med student at Hofstra University, arrived home from her job at a Baldwin CVS pharmacy. He is accused of sneaking behind her and splashing her face with acid before jumping in the back seat as Coke drove away.

In September, prosecutors were able to connect Campbell and Coke as old high school friends.

Following Campbell's arrest last month, prosecutors said Coke was interviewed by police again and admitted telling Campbell before the attack that "he hoped something devastating would happen to her, that he wanted karma to teach her a lesson," Assistant District Attorney Brian Rodriguez said in court.

Prosecutors said Coke dated Ikram at Hofstra from late 2020 to early 2021.

Authorities said he became angry when he posed as another user talking to her on Snapchat, where she said she didn't think the relationship was that serious.

Donnelly said Coke was trying to get her to admit she had cheated on him and could not accept "the relationship had run its course and it was over when she told him it was over."

Prosecutors said they could not charge Coke in 2021 because he never made an admission in the case, but investigators were able to link the two men in September, 2025 after learning of Campbell's identity and connecting the pair with video footage and cellphone records. 

Donnelly said since Campbell had no connection to Ikram, they were initially unable to connect Coke until they were identified as old friends

Investigators found more than 8,000 messages about Ikram on Coke's phone.

Less than an hour before the attack, Coke made plans to pick up Campbell in Brooklyn, prosecutors said. They believe Coke was driving Campbell's car when he pulled up outside Ikram's house and Campbell splashed her with acid, then jumped in the back seat before they sped away.

Ikram, now 26, said she did not know Campbell but at the time of the attack she saw out of her peripheral vision a large man in a hoodie lurking behind her. He splashed her face with acid, blinding her in one eye, permanently damaging her face and burning her esophagus and body. She has since undergone multiple surgeries.

Prosecutors said Campbell was charged based on tips and surveillance footage that showed his 2015 red Nissan Altima near the house at the time of the attack.

The attacker was wearing gloves and holding a Styrofoam cup that later tested positive for 70% sulfuric acid, prosecutors said. Investigators later found Campbell’s search history, which included queries about how to get acid out of a car's upholstery and searches for news about the attack, they said.

Prosecutors also found a 2023 rap song by Campbell, which included the lyrics: "On the street in the night like a hitman assassin, try to run up, have your face burn in acid."

The case was nearing the statute of limitations to file charges before the first arrest was made. But prosecutors said Tuesday they were still able to charge Coke due to "tolling," which is a pause in the statute taking effect, triggered by certain facts in the case.

Ikram’s story garnered national attention, including from television host Padma Lakshmi, who asked her 2 million followers on social media for tips in the case.

Authorities said they planned to pay a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest, but police did not disclose who offered the tips for the reward.

Coke is scheduled to return to court April 20.

Campbell is scheduled to return to court April 16.