Second Lt. Richard Collins III was a well liked student on the Bowie State University campus. He was stabbed and killed at the University of Maryland campus early Saturday morning while visiting friends. On Monday, the Bowie State University community came together to remember him.
"We all loved him. He never made a soul mad. You never got get mad at him because all he did was bring you nothing but life and energy," said Jeremiah Bines, a friend of Collins.
"I talked to Richard on a daily basis, saw Richard on a daily basis. The natural love that he had for just humans in general was unconditional, unwavering," Ovando Brown said.
From friends, to family, to those he looked up to in the ROTC program, no one denies that Collins' death is something they may never recover from.
"When I first heard the news I was beyond shocked. I was shaken to my core because he was such a sweet soul," Chantel Farlow said.
Sean Christopher Urbanski, 22, is suspected of stabbing and killing Collins. He's charged with first and second-degree murder and first-degree assault.
Because of Urbanski’s membership in the racially charged Facebook group, "Alt Reich," Collins' death is now being looked into as a hate crime.
"Why? Why does this still exist. Am I confused about it still existing? No. Why? Yes," Brown said.
Collins was expected to graduate Tuesday and commissioned to go to the Army.
This is Richard Collins, stabbed and killed at @UofMaryland this weekend. He was set to graduate from @BowieState tmrw @ABC2NEWS pic.twitter.com/7IH0RUkric
— Skyler A. Henry (@SkylerHenry) May 22, 2017
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