Assaulted SF Gay Man to be Taken Off Life Support

A gay man who was brutally attacked Sunday morning in San Francisco's gay-friendly Castro District will be taken off life support Thursday, San Francisco Bay Guardian reports.

Bryan Higgins, know to friends as Feather Lynn, was found unconscious and critically injured early Sunday morning outside a church without identification. He suffered a brain aneurysm as a result of the attack and he needed to be put on life support.

"Right now, we are just concerned with his spirit, and making sure everyone has a chance to say goodbye," his partner Brain Haggerty told the newspaper. "Too many factors came together in this situation. But the truth is he has left us."

Higgins, 31, will be taken off life support at 3:33 p.m. Thursday. At the same time, a vigil will be held at Duboce Park, which is located near where he was attacked.

The San Francisco Police Department say they have little information on a suspect but are looking for a white man who was caught on a security camera in the area. He has been described as being in his late 20s or early 30s and was wearing a dark colored hoodie. Sources told SFBG that Higgins' death is being considered an attempted homicide via assault with a deadly weapon.

"We haven't been in contact with anyone other than those immediately involved in Feather's passing," Haggerty said.

A friend described Haggerty saying goodbye to his partner in the hospital room to the newspaper:

There are young gay men going in and out of the room holding and kissing his hands; whispering in his ear; family walking in and crying and massaging his feet; relatives encouraging their crying children to say goodbye to him. People meeting each other and hugging, watching TV in the waiting room, handing each other Kleenex in the hospital room. It is so fucking beautiful and sad.

"His husband put a black, white, and tan African dye-print scarf around Feather's neck, and stretched it out over his shoulders and arms and body with his beautiful face above it.... like he is a bird/spirit preparing to fly.

Higgins' friends and family are remembering him as a wonderful person.

"He was more than just a great human being, one in a million, he was an incredible man," Steve Horton, the victim's uncle, told MLive.com. "Through all of this I hope we can learn love is the answer."

Jimmy Adair, manager of the Metro Diner & Nightclub, has been friends with Higgins for 15-years and says he "always made people feel wonderful."

"The nice thing about Bryan was he was such a free spirit and loving person," Adair told MLive.com. "All that he wanted was joy in his life. He was a pure soul, a pure spirit. Back in the day, we used to hang out and bar hop together."

If you have any information about the incident you can contact the SFPD at 415-575-4444 or text TIP411 with "SFPD" at the start of the message.