Mom: Student didn’t touch officer who shot him

WETUMPKA, Ala. — The mother of a University of South Alabama freshman killed by a campus police officer says she’s been told he never touched the officer who shot him.

Gil Collar of Wetumpka was naked when he was fatally wounded on campus early Saturday. University officials have said he assumed a “fighting stance” and chased the officer before being shot, but they haven’t said he was armed.

Collar’s mother, Bonnie Smith Collar, said Monday she’s been told by someone involved in the investigation that surveillance video shows her son didn’t touch the officer.

Collar says she’s getting conflicting information about what happened. But she’s urging people to withhold judgment about her son until all the facts are out.

A candlelight vigil is planned for Collar at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Wetumpka High School.