Weeks after the murder of Bowie State University student Richard Collins III, on the campus of the University of Maryland College Park, law enforcement officials are asking for the public’s patience as their investigation continues.
Richard Collins was stabbed to death in May, days before his college graduation at Bowie State University. (Photo Courtesy)
University of Maryland President Wallace D. Loh called for students and the university’s community to allow time for the completion of an investigation to determine if the murder constituted a hate crime.
“It is essential that law enforcement agencies have the time to conduct the thorough investigation needed for law and justice to prevail. I have requested that they provide periodic updates to the UMD and BSU communities, as appropriate,” he said in a statement.
In court records, the University of Maryland student charged with killing Collins, Sean Urbanski, reportedly approached Collins, demanded he step aside, and when he refused, stabbed him.
Collins’ murder was the first homicide at the University of Maryland in decades, though it occurred amid a series of racist incidents on the campus, including the discovery of a noose in a fraternity house earlier this month and the distribution of nationalist fliers earlier this year.
Artie Lee Travis, Bowie’s vice president for Student Affairs, told the Baltimore Sun, “We are looking forward to the quickest investigation as possible. I’m in no place to feel very many emotions beside sadness and just a deep sense of personal loss.”
The FBI confirmed that it is currently investigating the murder as a hate crime.