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

A 60-year-old man died after he was involved in a massive brawl that broke out among spectators at a middle-school basketball game in Vermont Tuesday.

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

One man involved in the fight, 60-year-old Russel Giroux, of Alburgh, required medical attention following the fight, police said.

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 office of the Vermont medical examiner will conduct an autopsy.

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

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

The Grand Isle Supervisory Union released a statement about the incident Wednesday afternoon, writing: “It is with a heavy heart that I write to you that there was a physical altercation between multiple adults in attendance at last night’s Middle School basketball game between Alburgh Community Education Center and St. Albans City Schools.”

The statement continued: “Our immediate goal is to remind and educate our students and families that our school culture is one of family, community, and kindness. We need our students and 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 about 2,100.

With Post wires