| Advertisement |
|
|
Update: A 19-year-old is now charged in connection with the death of Brandon Brown. Alton Lamont Franklin is charged with Aiding and Abetting Murder in the Second Degree.
Franklin is being held on $500,000 bond in the McPherson County Jail.
McPherson police say the investigation into the death of 26-year-old Brandon Brown is continuing and they want to hear from anyone who may have more details about what happened.
Anyone with tips can call (620) 245-1200 or Crime Stoppers of McPherson County at (620) 241-1122.
"One of the things I've learned is that young people know how to grieve better than older people," says Jules Glanzer, President of Tabor College. His students are grieving after learning of Brown's death.
The 26-year-old Brown was seriously injured in a fight outside a party in McPherson a week ago. Saturday night he died of his injuries at a Wichita hospital. Now, two small private schools are struggling to deal with the news.
"It's been a long week," said Jim Paulus, Tabor's Vice President of Student Life. A week which has changed the world for students and faculty at Brandon Brown's new school. The California native had just started classes at Tabor College this fall but was already a popular figure on campus. as much for his personality as his football skills.
"He's a person you'd never see alone. He always had people with him," said Paulus.
Brown was injured in a fight outside a party in McPherson. He was so badly hurt medics airlifted him to a Wichita hospital.
"A week ago we started out with prayers and a lot of hope on campus," said Paulus. That hope disappeared when the school emailed students Saturday night, informing them that Brown had died of his injuries.
"When I walked through the cafeteria, I saw a whole table of students, and they were eating and crying at the same time," said Glanzer, commenting on the students ability to process and show their grief so publicly.
"This is a difficult situation for all of us and, like I said, we're devastated," added Michael Schneider, President of McPherson College.
Students and staff at McPherson College are also struggling to deal with the events, as a fellow student has been arrested and faces criminal charges in the case. A former McPherson football player, Franklin now sits in a McPherson County jail cell. Since his arrest, has been dismissed from the school.
"It was a horrible, violent act. And neither school will tolerate that," said Schneider.
Both schools have held prayer vigils, before and after brown's death.
"We're spending a lot of time praying together, reading the scripture together, asking the hard questions," said Glanzer, as students and staff spend this time exploring their faith. "How even God loves the people who have been a part of this altercation."
"For sure this will define us for a while here," said Paulus of the small, shaken college community.
"We're going to be united on this," Schneider said about how he's working together with Tabor President Glanzer to help students deal with the tragedy. "We're going to take care of each other and work through this together."
A memorial is being planned for Brown at Tabor College. An announcement of when and where is expected sometime Monday. Tabor College has set up a memorial fund for Brandon Brown at the Hillsboro Emprise Bank to help the Brown family cover travel and medical expenses.
---------------------
Eyewitness News is committed to reporting facts, so we are correcting an error we reported over the weekend. We reported on our newscasts and here at KWCH.com that the fight happened following a football game. That information is incorrect. The fight happened outside an off-campus party. Tabor and McPherson College's football teams aren't scheduled to play each other until October 20. Eyewitness News regrets the error.