FBI Investigating University of Maryland Stabbing as Hate Crime
On early Saturday morning, Sean Christopher Urbanski fatally stabbed a young black man who was waiting at a campus bus stop. After learning that Urbanski was a member of a Facebook group called “Alt-Reich,” the FBI is investigating the murder as a hate crime.
In the early morning hours of May 20, Richard Collins III was waiting for an Uber at a campus bus stop with two of his friends. Without any warning or provocation, Sean Christopher Urbanski, a 22-year-old white male student, approached Collins and demanded, “Step left, step left if you know what’s good for you.”
Collins, a 23-year-old black male and US Army second lieutenant who was visiting friends at the University of Maryland simply replied “no.”
Urbanski then stabbed Collins in the chest, who was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
The University of Maryland Police Chief David Mitchell alerted the FBI once he’d learned that Urbanski was a member of a Facebook group known as “Alt-Reich: Nation.” This group is known for “spewing hatred toward minorities, especially African-Americans,” said Mitchell.
The "Alt-Reich" Facebook group has been recently deleted.
The murder is now being investigated as a hate crime, and Urbanski has been charged with first- and second-degree murder and first-degree assault. A judge has denied bond at this time.
During UMD’s commencement on Sunday, graduates and their families shared a moment of silence in honor of Collins.