This is currently the lead story on the Baltimore Sun’s website:
A black Bowie State University student who was set to graduate this week may have been killed over the weekend in a random, racially-motivated attack by a white University of Maryland, College Park student, officials said Sunday.
UM's police chief said Sunday that the suspect, [*name deleted because he doesn’t deserve the attention*], of Severna Park, was a member of an offensive, racist Facebook group. An FBI official, who said the federal agency will assist with UM's investigation, said officials are investigating it as a possible hate crime, but that they have not made a formal determination of a motive.
Details of the attack:
- The victim, Richard Collins III, was a student at Bowie State University, roughly 8-10 miles away. He was about to graduate. He was a member of ROTC and had just been commissioned as an Army lieutenant two days before he was murdered.
- The suspect, an intoxicated white man, approached Lt. Collins at 3 AM at a bus stop outside a dormitory on the University of Maryland campus. This followed:
According to charging documents, Collins' friends heard [*murderer*] scream as he approached them from next to the trees near the bus stop.
[*murderer*] said "Step left, step left if you know what's best for you," the documents say. Collins said "no" and [*murderer*] continued to approach before stabbing him once in the chest, they say.
- The suspect was a member of a racist Facebook group called the “Alt-Reich”. (Hence the “neo-Nazi” in the title, which I think is supported by this piece of evidence alone). Because of this affiliation, the incident is being investigated as a hate crime.
- The murder was captured on surveillance cameras. There seems to be no doubt whatsoever about the identity of the murderer.
Not all of the facts of this case are known yet and I don’t want to jump too hard to conclusions. The most important thing is to honor the victim and the life he lived.
But it’s beyond dispute that neo-Nazis now feel more emboldened than they have in decades. This has terrible consequences. And the politicians who benefit from the support of neo-Nazis, white nationalists, and their ilk ought to think long and hard about whether they’re OK with that.