Brandon Brown

Alton Franklin

Tabor College football player Brandon Brown, 26, died late Saturday of injuries sustained in an altercation last weekend.

McPherson police found him unconscious, lying in a street, when they responded to a noise complaint Sept. 16 in the 400 block of North Carrie Street in McPherson. He had been on life support since then at Via Christi-St. Francis Hospital in Wichita.

Shortly before Brown’s death Saturday, McPherson police announced that they had arrested a 19-year-old suspect, Alton Franklin of Dallas, on a charge of aggravated battery. The charge was amended Monday to aiding and abetting murder in the second degree, and his bond was increased to $500,000.

McPherson police continue to seek information about the beating death and have asked anyone with information about the incident to contact them at (620) 245-1200.

Brown, a 6-foot-3, 280-pound defensive lineman from Sacramento, Calif., was a junior at Tabor, having transferred this year from Santa Ana Community College in California.

Franklin was listed on McPherson College’s 2011 football roster as a 5-foot-7, 178-pound linebacker.

“We gather as one on campus to grieve together, support each other with prayer and love, and seek the comfort of the living Christ,” Tabor President Jules Glanzer said in a news release.

A fund to assist the family with expenses is set up with Emprise Bank in Hillsboro. Counseling services are being made available to students through the Tabor Student Life office.

A memorial service for Brown is scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday at First Mennonite Brethren Church, 300 Prairie Pointe, Hillsboro. The service will be open to the public.