A candlelight vigil is planned to honor a Bowie State University student who was fatally stabbed while visiting the University of Maryland. The Black student’s slaying is being investigated by the FBI as a possible hate crime.
Candles are lit for a candlelight vigil at a bus shelter at the University of Maryland in College Park, Md, Sunday, May 21, 2017, where visiting student was fatally stabbed. A University of Maryland student was charged Sunday with fatally stabbing a visiting student on campus in what police have described as an unprovoked attack that rattled the school over graduation weekend. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The vigil for Richard Collins III is planned for Monday evening at 7 P.M. at the historically Black school’s campus, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the University of Maryland, where the attack occurred. Bowie State spokeswoman Damita Chambers says it’s a student-led effort. Chambers says the school plans a moment of silence during Tuesday’s commencement, when 23-year-old Collins was to graduate.
Police arrested 22-year-old Sean Christopher Urbanski, who is White. He has been charged with first- and second-degree murder and first-degree assault. Police asked the FBI to assist after learning that Urbanski belonged to a Facebook group called “Alt-Reich: Nation,” where members post disparaging material about African-Americans and others.