Spectator dies after melee at middle school basketball game - ABC News

ALBURGH, Vt. -- A brawl broke retired among spectators astatine a mediate schoolhouse basketball crippled successful bluish Vermont, and a 60-year-old antheral who participated successful the combat died, constabulary said.

State troopers were called to the Alburgh Community Education Center conscionable earlier 7 p.m. Tuesday aft a study of a ample combat involving spectators during a seventh- and eighth-grade boys hoops crippled betwixt Alburgh and St. Albans.

The combat ended earlier troopers arrived, and galore of the participants had left. Russell Giroux, of Alburgh, sought aesculapian attention, constabulary said. He was taken by ambulance to the Northwestern Medical Center successful St. Albans, wherever helium was pronounced dead.

Jay Nichols, the enforcement manager of The Vermont Principals’ Association, said successful a connection that the group, which oversees schoolhouse sports successful the state, had nary accusation astir the lawsuit beyond what the authorities provided.

“Although we tin not talk specifically astir the events astatine this idiosyncratic game, we would similar to erstwhile again stress that mediate and precocious schoolhouse sports are acquisition and are for the payment of the student-athletes,” helium said. “Spectators that cannot behave appropriately tin beryllium barred from events and tin look transgression charges.”

The superintendent of the Grand Isle Supervisory Union, which includes Alburgh, did not respond to a Wednesday petition for comment.

The authorities constabulary and Grand Isle state’s attorney’s bureau are investigating Giroux's death. The authorities aesculapian examiner's bureau volition behaviour an autopsy.

Alburgh is simply a municipality of astir 2,100 successful northwestern Vermont. It is surrounded connected 3 sides by Lake Champlain. The bluish portion of the assemblage forms portion of the borderline with Canada.