Brandon Liggons’ family is demanding accountability after the 42-year-old homeless man died three weeks following a brutal gas station assault by three teens.
Liggons, 42, was sitting outside an Oklahoma City metro gas station when the group swarmed him, shoved him to the ground, and began kicking and punching him, according to security footage obtained by KFOR and circulating online. He suffered critical injuries including a brain bleed and was rushed to the hospital, his cousin Grail Pendarvis, 54, told the outlet.
“After being in the hospital on a ventilator for three weeks, yeah, you get pneumonia. That’s how it works,” Pendarvis said.
Liggons was admitted to the ICU, where he died three weeks later from a lung infection. Police have not linked the teens to his death, and Oklahoma City police told The Post that his death will likely not be ruled a homicide.
“There is no report to provide due to nobody calling the police in reference to the assault at the scene or the hospital,” police wrote.
When asked if they were probing the assault, police said: “At this point, not likely if nobody reported the crime. We have only been informed about this through media inquiries.”
Authorities have not identified who was involved in the clobbering. They said it’s possible the teens could face charges, according to KFOR, but told The Post that it’s “unlikely.”
Pendarvis, who’d visit his cousin often, said Liggons was deeply loved by friends and family, but ultimately chose to live on the streets.
“Nobody should have to be forgotten about or thrown away, and Brandon wasn’t a throwaway person. People care about him; people are actively looking for him. For his assailants,” Pendarvis said.
Gregory Davis, another of Liggons’ cousins, claimed in a Facebook post that he was a “special needs man.”
“He was homeless by choice, had his struggles, and found comfort in the life he knew on the streets. But beyond all of that, Brandon was a person who was loved, known, and cared about by many people,” Davis wrote.
“It’s painful to know that his life ended this way. No matter the circumstances, Brandon deserved compassion, dignity, and to be treated with kindness.”
Meanwhile, photos and videos of the alleged attackers have continued to circulate on social media, with outraged community members demanding they be held accountable.
“Brandon was truly a very sweet soul. He would help you even when he needed help himself. I can speak on that personally,” one local woman, Atwana Twana, wrote in a heartfelt Facebook post.
“And then I see this BS … some kids jumped on him for no reason. I KNOW Brandon, and trust me, he is not the type of person to just try to harm somebody. This is wrong on so many different levels.”
The security footage shows Liggons sitting outside the gas station before the unprovoked attack. The teens shoved him to the ground and began kicking and punching him as he tried to defend himself.
Oklahoma City police have not announced any arrests or identified any suspects in the assault.
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