Salem State pays tribute to slain MIT officer

SALEM, Mass. (AP) - Salem State University has honored slain Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer Sean Collier, a 2009 graduate.

The Salem News reports hundreds of people gathered Monday afternoon for the outdoor ceremony near the campus police station. Uniformed officers from Salem police, MIT and Massachusetts State Police were among those at the event also attended by members of Collier's family.

The chairwoman of the university's criminal justice department, Kristen Kuehnle, said: "We have great pride that we knew this amazing man."

Newton police officer Tim Walton, a 2008 Salem State graduate, said Collier "was truly born to be in this profession."

Authorities say Collier was shot and killed by Boston Marathon bombing suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on April 18.

Salem State has established a criminal justice scholarship in Collier's honor.

Cox Media Group