Man dies after fan brawl at middle-school basketball game in Vermont

A 60-year-old man has died after being involved in a massive fight that broke out among spectators at a basketball game in Vermont on Tuesday.

State Troopers arrived at the Alburgh Community Education Center just before 7 p.m. after receiving reports of a large scuffle involving bystanders watching seventh and eighth grade boys from Alburgh and St. Albans play basketball.

A man involved in the scuffle, Russel Giroux, 60, of Alburgh, required medical attention after the scuffle, police said.

Russel Giroux, of Alburgh, Vermont, needed medical attention after the fight in the youth basketball game and later died at an area hospital.WCAX

Giroux was taken to Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans, where he later died. Police have not shared how he was injured in the melee.

Giroux’s death is being investigated by state police and the Grand Isle State’s Attorney’s Office. The Vermont medical examiner’s office will perform an autopsy.

Video taken of the massive fight, shared by NBC 5, appears to show adults and children struggling on the basketball court.

Children appeared to be near the fight, which broke out on the basketball court on Tuesday. The death of WCAX Russel Giroux is being investigated by state police and the local district attorney’s office.WCAX

Some parents seem to pull the children away as smaller physical fights break out, with some adults on the ground grabbing each other. It is unclear who is on the ground and what initially caused the explosion.

The Grand Isle Supervisory Union issued a statement on the incident on Wednesday afternoon, writing, “It is with a heavy heart that I write to you that there was a physical altercation between several adults present at the game of last night’s college basketball between Alburgh Community Education Center and St. Albans City Schools.

The statement continued: “Our immediate goal is to remind and educate our students and their families that our school culture is one of family, community and kindness. We need our students and our community to commit to the positive culture that our school community expects and deserves.

Alburgh, a town in northwestern Vermont surrounded on three sides by Lake Champlain, has a population of approximately 2,100.

With post wires