Hate Crime Charged In Fatal UMD Stabbing of Black Bowie State Student

GREENBELT, MD — A hate crime charge has been filed against Sean Urbanski, a former University of Maryland student accused of fatally stabbing 2nd Lt. Richard Collins III on campus, a Prince George's County grand jury decided Tuesday.

Urbanski, 22, of Severna Park, was also charged with the murder of Collins in July. Collins, a 23-year-old Bowie State University student who would've been a U.S. Army officer, was killed while visiting the university May 20. Initially, police didn't think race had anything to do with the attack, but that changed when they found out Urbanski was a member of a racist Facebook group called "Alt-Reich Nation."

Collins, who was set to graduate from Bowie State University the week of his death, was visiting the University of Maryland with friends on May 20. Police were called to the campus at Regents Drive near Montgomery Hall at around 3 a.m. to a report of an assault with a knife.

Alse See: UMD Student Stunned After Fatal Stabbing

"Officers immediately responded to the area and located the male victim on the sidewalk suffering from serious injuries," the university statement reads. "Officers provided medical assistance until paramedics arrived. The victim was taken to a local hospital where he was later pronounced deceased by medical staff."

Prince George's County Police later stopped Urbanski near that location and identified him as the person behind the attack.

See Also:

• Severna Park Man Indicted For Murder Of Army Officer At U.Md
• Donation Fund Set Up For Slain Bowie State University Student
• Man Accused Of Killing Black College Student May Be White Supremacist: Report

The Baltimore Sun reports that Urbanski "warned" Collins, who had just been commissioned as an officer in the Army on Thursday after four years in the ROTC program, to "step left, step left if you know what's good for you" based on charging documents. Collins reportedly refused, and Urbanski stabbed him in the chest.

"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, according to the Sun.

A hate crime charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, but Urbanski could be sentenced to life without parole if he is convicted of murder.

The University of Maryland had a difficult spring when it comes to racial incidents. Earlier in May, police at the university investigated a noose found in a fraternity house as a possible hate crime.

Image via University of Maryland