A white University of Maryland student was charged Sunday with stabbing a black newly commissioned US Army lieutenant to death. Authorities said Sunday that they are now evaluating whether the incident was a possible hate crime.

University of Maryland police charged 22-year-old Sean Christopher Urbanski, of Severna Park, Maryland, with first- and second-degree murder and first-degree assault after Army Lt. Richard Collins III was stabbed and killed early Saturday morning in what authorities called a "totally unprovoked" attack.

The evaluation of whether it was a possible hate crime stems from Urbanski's involvement in a Facebook group called "Alt Reich: Nation," police said Sunday. University Police Chief David B. Mitchell said he asked the FBI for help in the case after discovering the online group.

"When I looked at the information that’s contained on that website, suffice to say that it’s despicable. It shows extreme bias against women, Latinos, members of the Jewish faith, and especially African-Americans,” Mitchell said at a press conference. “Which brings up questions as to the motive in this case. Knowing that, we will continue to look for digital evidence, among other items of evidentiary value.”

Urbanski was held on a no-bond status on Monday at a hearing where his parents were present to support him.



"We believe he is a dangerous person who stabbed a perfect stranger at a bus stop," Prince George's County State's Attorney, Angela Alsobrooks, told reporters Monday. "He is threat to the community," she said.

But at another news conference late Monday, Alsobrooks said Urbanski's motive remains unclear.

“We do not have enough evidence to say conclusively whether this is a hate crime,” she said. “What we can say is that we will leave no stone unturned.” She added that authorities "need something probably more than just a Facebook posting" to determine that the killing was a hate crime.

The stabbing occurred at around 3 a.m. Saturday morning, as Collins and two others were waiting for an Uber near the University of Maryland's Montgomery Hall, police said. Collins, a 23-year-old student at Bowie State University, was visiting friends at the College Park campus, and he and his two companions watched as Urbanski, who was unknown to them, approached. Mitchell said Urbanski was "yelling, perhaps screaming" as he approached them, according to eyewitnesses. He appeared to be intoxicated, Mitchell said, adding that they were testing his blood to determine the use of other drugs as well.

According to Mitchell, Urbanski told Collins: "Step left, step left if you know what’s best for you.” When a puzzled Collins said no, Mitchell said, Urbanski stabbed him in the chest and fled, police said. Collins died at the hospital.

The victim was due to graduate from Bowie State with a business administration degree on Tuesday and was recently commissioned as a second lieutenant in the US Army's intelligence division.

Prince George's County Police arrested Urbanski shortly after the incident, while he was seated on a bench at a bus stop about 50 feet from the attack. Witnesses, including Collins' friends, identified Urbanski as the assailant, and police said they recovered a folding knife in his front pocket. The incident was also captured on surveillance cameras.

Gordon Johnson, the FBI agent from the Baltimore field office, said that they would make a "final determination" of whether it was a hate crime after the homicide investigation was completed and they had "looked at the evidence in totality."



"We're going to evaluate that as an ongoing concern with respect to whether this was a hate crime or not," Johnson said.



“Anyone who feels empowered by what happened, the only thing I can say is that if you want to harm our students, you are going to have to go through us,” Mitchell told reporters Sunday. “We are not going to tolerate any harm brought to our students. Not on my campus. Not on my watch.”

Though Urbanski's Facebook page is now private, screenshots circulating on social media appear to confirm that he belonged to the "Alt Reich: Nation" group. By Sunday, the group's page had been taken down, but an archived snapshot showed that it was created in March and had about 1,150 members.

The description for the group reads: "Controversial humor. Memes." Several posts display racist memes and offensive content about women.

Alex Goodman, an administrator for Alt Reich: Nation, confirmed to BuzzFeed News that the group's page had been taken down on Sunday, and described it as a meme and satire platform.