Black Army Lieutenant Murdered after Standing Up to White Supremacist on Maryland Campus

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Richard Collins III, a black 23-year-old college student, was just commissioned as a second Lieutenant in the Army after completing an ROTC program and was set to graduate from Bowie State University this week. However, as Collins was waiting for an Uber outside of a dorm building at the University of Maryland along with two other students around 3am Saturday morning, he was stabbed once in the chest and subsequently died.

The suspect, Sean Urbanski, a white student at the University of Maryland, was extremely intoxicated when he approached the group on the sidewalk. According to the police report, Urbanski was “yelling, perhaps screaming,” before telling the group: “Step left, step left if you know what’s best for you.” Collins responded “no.” Using a folding knife, Urbanski then stabbed Collins once in the chest. Collins was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Urbanski was arrested near the scene and was charged with first-degree murder.

University Police initially did not believe that the attack was racially motivated, but on Sunday they were alerted to Urbanski’s social media activities. Ubranski belonged to a Facebook group entitled “Alt-Reich Nation,” which contained racist posts and memes. Now, police have asked for the FBI’s help in investigating whether or not the murder could be considered a hate crime. The page has recently been deleted.

University Police Chief David Mitchell said of the Facebook group:

“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.”

The University of Maryland President Wallace D. Loh said in a statement:

“We must all do more to nurture a climate — on campus and beyond — where we stand against hate, we fight against hate crimes, and we reaffirm the values that define us a university and as a democracy. As we search for answers to this senseless crime, please continue to keep the family and friends of Lt. Collins, and the BSU community, in your thoughts and prayers. We all grieve together for a promising life ended far too early.”

The incident occurred as the Maryland campus has dealt with a rash of racist incidents. The Baltimore Sun reported on two such incidents:

“A noose was found in a fraternity house earlier this month, and posters promoting nationalism were found on campus earlier this year.”

The University of Maryland honored Collins with a moment of silence during their commencement ceremonies on Sunday. Bowie State plans on honoring Collins on Tuesday, during their graduation. Collins was to graduate from Bowie State with a degree in business administration.

Comments

  1. It is amazing how some people can understand that this was a hate crime but turn around in the same breath and try to justify it not being a hate crime but possible just a hateful mean person that would have done the same thing to a white man. The fact that he came down the street walking towards a trio of black people stating, “Step Left, Step Left if you know what’s best for you”. Is enough to get this charged has a premediated hate crime. Let stop wishing for excuses for something that is visibly and blatantly wrong. We has a people have got to stop excusing wrong. It makes on matter who the perpetrator may be black , white, blue , green makes no difference. This was wrong and it has to be called out for what it is. White’s are no better than Black, Hispanics, English, Oriental, or Mid-Easterner when it comes to taking a life. How can you be Anti-abortionist and angered by abortions but will then be alright with the killing of an child or adult. Isn’t that just another means of aborting a life. Wake up people we are all in this thing together black’s have survived 300 years of oppression, slavery, rape, Jim crow, imprisonment, hangings then and now, beatings, firings, joblessness, kidnappings, sex slavery, and killings and we are still here. We are going know where.

  2. When you order any one of another race to step aside while you are walking toward them, acting like your drunk or your right to order that person to move, Your intent is quite clear to that race. Only a bigot WS hater, speak to another Human being like that. When is white America going to wake up to these Hate Crime? Because that what this was, Intent to commit a Hate Crime. If Law Enforcement or the Court don’t see The Act of a Hate Crime is because they don’t want to see it.

  3. This is a terrible tragedy. Richard Collins III sounds like an amazing guy taken from the world by a hateful bigot.

    More details are still coming out, but this may be an interesting case to watch. This guy hated a lot of people, but this crime doesn’t involve direct proof that the stabbing was racially motivated. Almost certainly it was, but since the perp didn’t shout racial slurs or make racially charged statements during the encounter it may be tough to prove. If a generally hateful, bigoted person kills someone that falls into one of the (potentially many) groups that bigot hates, is that enough to call it a hate crime? Would this guy get charged with a hate crime for any senseless murder he committed that doesn’t involve another white male?

    I don’t know the answer to that. I hope they do bring hate crime charges against him just so the courts have a chance to hopefully help us determine what the limits of hate crime should be. This may be the ideal case to ask and answer some of those questions. I don’t know that I trust our judiciary to reliably answer these questions, but at least the first swings will be from a Maryland judge, and not one in Alabama.

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