Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) unveiled a temporary memorial stone dedicated to Officer Sean Collier who was killed during the manhunt for Boston Marathon bombers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, according to U.S. News & World Report.
The memorial was displayed on Friday during a ceremony just six months after the 27-year-old officer's death. Authorities say he was shot by the Tsarnaev brothers on April 18 as they ran from police.
"He was a man of character. He was an individual that knew exactly where he was going and how he was going to get there," said MIT Police Chierf John DiFava.
A crowd of 200 people gathered at the on-campus memorial with just three days' notice and scheduled a moment of silence at 10:20 p.m. -- the exact time of the six month anniversary of Collier's slaying.
"It's painful to the extreme to try to reconcile the fact that six months ago at this very hour, Sean Collier was still with us," DiFava added.
You can see a video of the memorial coverage here.
The limestone memorial in engraved with the MIT shoulder patch below Collier's badge number, 179. Former co-workers, loved ones, and strangers covered the stone with flowers and American flags.
A permanent memorial site is planned to be built in the near future, the Boston Globe reported.
"He was a good officer, a great human being,'' said Christina Giacobbe, chief administrative officer of the Cambridge Police Department. "He did a lot for this community. He was taken away from us way too prematurely.'"
Collier, a native of Wilmington, received his law enforcement degree from Salem State University. Before his death, he had accepted a job as a police officer in Somerville.
While the older Tsarnaev was killed during the manhunt, younger brother Dzhokhar remains in federal custody as he awaits trial.
