[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8384]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      REMEMBERING RICHARD COLLINS

  (Mr. HOYER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, over the weekend, a young man in my district 
was killed in what appears to be a vicious crime, probably motivated by 
hate.
  U.S. Army Second Lieutenant Richard W. Collins, III, was just days 
away from graduating from Bowie State University. Richard stood on the 
threshold of what promised to be a life of service to his country.
  He has been remembered by family and friends as a kind soul, an 
angel, and a national treasure.
  All of us across Maryland were shocked and devastated when we learned 
of the attack that took his life--an unprovoked attack at a bus station 
waiting for an Uber to pick him up. An individual came along and asked 
him to step left--whatever that meant. He said: ``No, I won't.'' And he 
was stabbed in the chest.
  We were deeply alarmed to learn that the suspect in Richard's murder 
belonged to an alleged online White supremacist group. Richard was 
African American. Richard's murderer must be held to account under the 
full weight of our laws, and, hopefully, he will be.
  His life is a reminder of everything that makes our Nation 
extraordinary. His death is a painful reminder that our work in 
overcoming hatred in this country is far from over.
  I have been keeping Richard's parents and family in my thoughts and 
in my prayers this week, and I will continue to do so.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise with a very heavy heart to mourn the loss of a 
young man in my district who was killed over the weekend in a possible 
hate-crime. U.S. Army Second Lieutenant Richard W. Collins III was just 
days away from graduating from Bowie State University College of 
Business when he was stabbed by an assailant while waiting at a bus 
stop in College Park on the campus of the University of Maryland. He 
was there to visit friends and celebrate his having been commissioned 
as an officer in the Army just two days earlier.
  At age twenty-three, Richard stood on the threshold of what promised 
to be an exciting life of service to his country, and the Army was 
fortunate to have such a driven and talented young person so eager to 
be a part of defending our nation. Richard represented the best of the 
Fifth District, the best of Maryland, and the best of America. All of 
us across the region were shocked and devastated when we learned of the 
attack that took his life. We were deeply dismayed as well to learn 
that the suspect in Richard's murder belonged to an alleged online 
white supremacist group with references in its name to Nazism and to 
the so-called `Alt-Right' movement that espouses xenophobia and racial 
hatred. The FBI is now investigating, and Richard's murderer must be 
held to account under the full weight of our laws.
  In viewing this tragedy, it is easy to get caught up in the details 
of who perpetrated the crime and why. But the real story I wish to 
share with my colleagues is Richard's story. The story of a young man 
who was so proud to put on his Army uniform and had diligently drilled 
as a member of the ROTC in college. He has been remembered by family 
and friends as a `kind soul,' an `angel,' and `a national treasure.' 
The loss of this outstanding young Marylander and young American 
diminishes us all.
  I have been keeping Richard's parents and extended family in my 
thoughts and in my prayers these past few days, and I will surely 
continue to be inspired by his memory for a long time to come. His life 
is a reminder of everything that makes our nation extraordinary His 
death is a painful reminder that the work of banishing hatred from our 
midst is far from over and will require each and every one of us to 
share in the task. May God bless the memory of Second Lieutenant 
Richard W Collins III and watch over his family and his community in 
this hour of their grief.

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