University stabbing suspect to remain in jail
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — A white University of Maryland student accused of stabbing a black man on campus in a possible hate crime will remain behind bars after a judge denied his request for house arrest on Monday.
The FBI is investigating the unprovoked stabbing of Richard Collins III as a possible hate crime. The suspect, Sean Urbanski, has belonged to a racist Facebook group.
Defence attorney William C. Brennan argued Monday that the 22-year-old should be allowed to live at home under conditions including GPS monitoring and alcohol abuse treatment while his case goes forward. The judge declined, for now. Collins, 23, was stabbed early Saturday while visiting friends at the College Park campus. He had just been commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, and would have graduated Tuesday from Bowie State University, police said.
The killing was met with shock and fear on both campuses, which are nearby each other in suburban Washington. Bowie State, a historically black school, is having its commencement ceremony today in the same basketball stadium on campus where Maryland held its ceremony on Sunday.
“If I’m a person of colour I would certainly look at this as something that could happen to me. In fact, I know on Facebook our students are saying that,” said University of Maryland Police Chief David Mitchell.
Mitchell said he asked for the FBI’s help after learning that Urbanski, 22, belonged to a Facebook group called “Alt-Reich: Nation,” where members post disparaging material about African-Americans and others.
“We are here to evaluate that as an ongoing concern with respect to whether or not this was a hate crime,” Gordon Johnson, special agent in charge of the FBI field office in Baltimore, said at a news conference Sunday evening.
Brennan told the judge that Urbanski, who appeared in court via a television feed, had “no prior criminal record.”
The judge said his request for bond could be revisited at a later date.
Brennan and Urbanski’s parents left without commenting after Monday’s hearing.
Urbanski was added to the Alt-Reich Facebook group by an administrator in February. The group, which was taken down after the stabbing, had about 1,100 members and included racist, sexist and anti-Semitic photos and posts.
Officials said Collins was with two friends waiting for an Uber ride at about 3 a.m. on Saturday when they heard Urbanski screaming and watched him approach. Urbanski said “Step left, step left if you know what’s best for you,” according to the charging documents. Collins said ‘no,’ and Urbanski stabbed him once in the chest, the documents say.
Officers found Urbanski sitting on a bench about 50 feet from where Collins collapsed, with a knife in his front right pocket, documents say.
Urbanski graduated from Severna Park High School in 2013, where he made the honour roll in 11th grade, according to media reports. Urbanski was not scheduled to graduate from the University of Maryland this year.