A grandfather died after finding himself in a brawl that broke out on the sidelines of a middle school basketball game reportedly over a referee call.
Russell Giroux, 60, was brought to a hospital in St. Albans City, Vermont, following the fight, which transpired Tuesday at the Alburgh Community Education Center.
The game reportedly involved seventh and eighth-grade boys from Alburgh and St. Albans middle schools, with the violence starting sometime before 7 pm ET. The melee ended by the time troopers arrived, but was filmed by a spectator.
Police described Giroux as a participant in a melee, revealing that he left the scene in his car but later called cops for medical assistance. He was later rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The circumstances of Giroux’s death are currently ‘under active investigation,’ a statement from the The Vermont State Police said Wednesday. Relatives mourned the loss Wednesday, calling the patriarch their ‘glue’ and ‘the provider’ for his family.
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Russell Giroux, pictured here with one of his grandchildren, is now being mourned after he was involved a brawl at a local middle school basketball game
Police responded to the fight before 7:00pm EST at a game between Alburgh & St. Albans
State troopers were called to the center just after 7pm following reports of the fight, which at first only involved spectators at the home game between Alburgh and St Albans.
Video shot from the scene shows the several adults rush onto the court throwing punches and kicks, as several students and players stared on from the sidelines.
The recording showed several people rush the court, with many being shoved, tackled, and punched in the process.
It further shows at least one student wearing a basketball uniform throwing multiple punches at adults involved in the violence.
The fight ended before troopers arrived – by which point many of the participants had already left, including Giroux, whose grandson, Ivan, is a student at Alburgh Middle.
It is not yet clear if the youngster, who has since changed his profile pictures on social media to his late grandfather, was a player in the game.
Giroux, police said, would then begin to drive in the direction of his home, before pulling over his car seemingly to survey his injuries. He subsequently sought medical attention, police said, with an ambulance taking him to a nearby hospital.
It was there, at the Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans, that Giroux was pronounced dead.
‘The circumstances of his death are under active investigation,’ the Vermont State Police told DailyMail.com on Thursday, adding that the probe will be headed by both by state police and the Grand Isle State’s Attorney’s Office.
Cops added that he office of the Vermont medical examiner will conduct an autopsy on the 60-year-old, while keeping mum as to the specifics of his injuries.
It’s unclear what sparked the melee – though NBC5 reported that the brawl started after a fan made a comment about a call from one of the referees during the game.
The game, witnesses told the outlet, sparked an argument on the sidelines, which eventually spilled over onto the court.
Jay Nichols, Executive Director of the Vermont Principals’ Association, added that the fight seemingly sparked out of nowhere.
‘They were reffing the game and the next thing he knew people were out on the court punching each other,’ Nichols said Wednesday.
‘There was one person that had blood all over their face. They got a parent to call the police.’
There also were reports that at least two boys punched walls in the aftermath of the fracas and needed medical treatment at the hospital.
Nichols urged adults to behave appropriately at similar events, stressing school basketball games are for educational purposes, not adult entertainment.
Alburgh is a town of about 2,100 in northwestern Vermont. It is surrounded on three sides by Lake Champlain.
The northern part of the community forms part of the border with Canada.
Spectators and players broke into a brawl at a middle school basketball game in Alburgh
One man later died in hospital after the fight on the basketball court on Tuesday evening
A brawl at a school in rural Alburgh, Vermont left a 60-year-old man dead as police investigate
Detectives are asking anyone with information about the fight to contact them. Call Det. Tpr. Michael Mattuchio at the St. Albans Barracks at 802-524-5993 or leave a tip anonymously online.
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