Thomas Brinson wants to know how his son Brandon died. The conditions surrounding his death are mysterious and Brinson suspects a few people aren’t telling all they know.
“All I was told by the police is that the guy who picked him up said he hadn’t seen him all day and went looking for him that he found him in a parking lot,” Brinson said while at his son’s memorial service held on FAMU campus last Thursday. “I think there’s some holes in that story and the person knows more than he’s telling. I think, in my heart, the person is afraid to incriminate himself.”
Brandon Brinson was buried in Jacksonville on Saturday.
The FAMU Police Department said Brinson was found at 1:45 a.m. near the corner of Pensacola Street and White Drive. He was taken to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, the Tallahassee Police Department said. The investigation is still ongoing. However, Brinson’s father believes the answers to many questions are closer than most might think.
“Anybody that knows Brandon knows he didn’t walk to where he was. He was off this campus,” Brinson said. “1:45 in the morning? He ain’t walk. Somebody carried him there.
He’s got a lot of friends he rides along with. He didn’t walk too many damn places.
Somebody knows something.”
Stories swirl around the death of the 19-year-old freshman Florida A&M student, who was found shot on April 14, in a parking lot. Authorities have yet to disclose information surrounding Brinson’s death.
Relatives traveled from Jacksonville and other places across the state to attend the memorial service.
Willie Harris, Brinson’s best friend from grade school to college, told stories filled with laughter to give the audience something to smile about in remembrance of Brinson.
“Brandon and me went to the same middle school and we became best friends in the seventh grade. We became best friends because we use to get in trouble everyday in that class,” Harris said. “To anybody that knows Brandon and me, they know that we were the class clowns. That’s just the way we like to do. We liked to keep the class live and at the same time, get our work done.”
Harris and Brinson attended James Weldon Johnson magnet school and although they often got into trouble with class disruptions, Harris said he wouldn’t change a thing.
“It was worth getting in trouble back in seventh grade and making the whole class laugh and it was worth going home and having to take that whooping,” Harris said. “He was the closest thing to a brother I ever had. Anytime I saw him, I gave him a hug.”
Harris wore shades during the memorial, but he seemed happy, often flashing a smile and laughing.
“Even though Brandon is not here today, I can still have a smile on my face because Brandon’s spirit lives in me and I’m using Brandon as my motivation to be a success in life and he’s my inspiration to be a positive influence unto others,” Harris said.
Brinson’s father nicknamed his son Bubba because he believes, “Every man should have his Bubba.”
Dean of Students Henry Kirby gave his condolences to the family while at the memorial service.
“This university lost a son too,” Kirby said with a trembling voice. “We want you to know that we are your family and that after today, we don’t want this family relationship to end.”