Graduating HBCU Student Killed By Member Of Hate Group

UPDATE: A moment of silence was held during the Class of 2017 commencement ceremony at Bowie State University in Maryland on Tuesday, in remembrance of Richard Collins III, who was killed on May 20. The school also honored his memory by draping what would have been his graduation gown over a front row seat that was left empty, as well as conferred a posthumous degree to Collins’ father, Richard Collins Jr.

The part of the commencement ceremony honoring Collins is around the 2:14:25 mark. The video is below.

An incident involving a white student at the University of Maryland who stabbed a black student visiting the campus only days before graduating from Bowie State University is now being investigated as a hate crime.

The Incident reportedly occurred on May 20, when Richard Collins III was visiting friends attending the University of Maryland. Collins and his friends were waiting for an Uber around 3 a.m. when they were approached by student Sean Urbanski, 22, who allegedly yelled “Step left, step left if you know what’s best for you,” at the group. Collins responded to Urbanski by saying “No,” which resulted in an altercation between the two where Urbanski stabbed Collins in the chest.

Collins was taken to the hospital where he died at the age of 23.

Urbanski was initially charged with first-degree murder in the attack, but it is now being investigated as a hate crime. Following the incident, police discovered that Urbanski was a part of a racist Facebook group called “Alt-Reich Nation,” which contained racist posts.

“When I look at the information that’s contained on that website, suffice it to say that it’s despicable, it shows extreme bias against women, Latinos, persons of Jewish faith and especially African-Americans,” University Police Chief David Mitchell said.

An FBI official said the federal agency will assist with the investigation as well.

Collins was set to graduate from Bowie State on Tuesday with a degree in business administration. He was to serve in Army intelligence as a second lieutenant, having completed ROTC in college.

Source via the Baltimore Sun