ALBURGH, Vt. — A fight broke out among spectators at a high school basketball game in northern Vermont, and a 60-year-old man involved in the fight was killed, police said.
State Police were called to the Alburgh Community Education Center just before 7 p.m. Tuesday after a report of a large fight involving spectators during a seventh- and eighth-grade boys’ basketball game between Alburgh and St. Albans. .
The fight was over before the soldiers arrived and many of the participants had left. Russell Giroux, of Alburgh, sought medical attention, police said. He was taken by ambulance to Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans, where he was pronounced dead.
Jay Nichols, executive director of the Vermont Directors Association, said in a statement that the group, which oversees school sports in the state, had no information about the event beyond what authorities provided.
«While we can’t speak specifically about the events in this individual game, we would like to emphasize once again that middle and high school sports are educational and are for the benefit of student-athletes,» he said. «Spectators who are unable to behave appropriately may be excluded from events and may face criminal charges.»
In a message sent to the school community, administrators from the Grand Isle Supervisory Union, which includes Alburgh, said they had organized support for students, staff and families.
“Our immediate goal is to remind and educate our students and families that our school culture is one of family, community, and kindness,” the message read. “We need our students and community to engage in the positive culture that our school community expects and deserves.”
State police and the Grand Isle State Attorney’s office are investigating Giroux’s death. The state medical examiner’s office will conduct an autopsy.
Alburgh is a city of about 2,100 people in northwestern Vermont. It is surrounded on three sides by Lake Champlain. The northern part of the community forms part of the Canadian border.