Salem State University honored alumnus and slain Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) police officer Sean Collier with a special ceremony on Monday.
The 26-year-old was a Wilmington, Delaware, native who earned a criminal justice degree from Salem State in 2009.
Authorities say Collier was shot and killed by Boston Marathon bombing suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on April 18. The Middlesex, Mass. resident was responding to a report of a disturbance when he was shot multiple times. The police officer was found shot in his car and later died at Massachusetts General Hospital.
The university has established a scholarship in Collier's honor, to be given annually to a Salem State student studying criminal justice. Several classmates, and professors as well as President Patricia Meservey spoke at Monday’s ceremony.
In the aftermath of the bombings a large memorial was held for Collier at MIT in Boston. Among the thousands of attendees at that memorial were dignitaries including Vice President Joe Biden.
A fund has been set up at Salem State to honor Collier's memory. To donate, the university asks persons to contact the alumni office at 978-542-7530 or alumni@salemstate.edu.
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