Owings man stabbed to death at UMD
FBI investigating as possible hate crime
An Anne Arundel County man is being held in the Prince George’s Correction Department without bail for an incident in which he allegedly murdered an Owings man early Saturday morning at a University of Maryland College Park bus stop by stabbing him in the chest. The FBI is assisting in investigating to determine if the incident was a hate crime.
Sean Christopher Urbanski, 22, of Severna Park was charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder and first-degree assault for the May 20 incident, online court records show. Urbanski is white and the victim, Richard Wilbur Collins III, 23, of Owings is black.
“The assailant in this case approached and, totally unprovoked, stabbed the victim in the chest,” University of Maryland Police Department Chief David Mitchell said at a press conference Sunday evening at the UMPD headquarters in College Park.
Around 3 a.m. May 20, the University of Maryland Police Department was notified of an assault with a knife that occurred on Regents Drive near Montgomery Hall on College Park’s campus. Officers responded to the area, where they found Collins on the sidewalk with serious injuries, according to a press release from UMPD. Collins, a Bowie State University student, was visiting a friend at the College Park campus.
Officers provided medical assistance until paramedics arrived, at which time Collins was transported to a local hospital. He was later pronounced dead by medical staff, the release details.
Prince George’s County Police stopped Urbanski on Regents Drive near Montgomery Hall and witnesses were able to positively identify him as the man who allegedly assaulted Collins. Urbanski was taken into UMPD custody and charged. Authorities recovered a folding knife as well.
At the press conference, Mitchell was joined by Gordon Johnson, FBI special agent in charge of the Baltimore Field Office, and Prince George’s County Police Chief Henry Stawinski III in giving updates at the UMPD headquarters in College Park.
Mitchell said Urbanski approached Collins and his two friends while they were waiting for an Uber car to pick them up early Saturday. He then reportedly told Collins and his friends to “step left. Step left if you know what’s good for you.” After Collins said no, Urbanski stabbed him in the chest.
“We have no doubt that Sean Urbanski, with a knife, stabbed Richard Wilburn Collins and killed him. We know that to be a fact. The question is why did that happen?” Mitchell said.
Authorities said the hate crime investigation stems from Urbanski’s involvement in an online Facebook group, “Alt-Reich,” which frequently posts racist and other inflammatory material. While the FBI will be providing technical and digital forensic resources to help determine if there is a possible hate-bias motive to the crime, the University of Maryland Police Department will continue to be the lead investigating agency, the release states.
“A young man’s life has been taken away from all of us. The fact that he’s from Bowie State or the University of Maryland makes no difference,” University of Maryland College Park president Wallace D. Loh said at the conference. Loh held a moment of silence for Collins at the school’s commencement Sunday.
The Criminal Investigations Unit of the University of Maryland Police Department is conducting the investigation into the incident. Anyone with information is asked to contact authorities at 301-405-3555. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous can go to www. umpd.umd.edu/contact/anonymous_tip.cfm.
Collins was a member of the Bowie State ROTC, recently commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army in the intelligence branch. He was set to graduate from Bowie State University Tuesday with a business degree. A vigil was held Monday evening at Bowie State University to honor Collins.