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Man dies after brawl among spectators at school basketball game

ALBURGH, Vt. (WFFF) – A 60-year-old man died Tuesday after a fight broke out among spectators at a middle school basketball game in Alburgh.

Vermont State Police are investigating the death of Russell Giroux, 60, of Alburgh, who sought medical attention after the brawl and was taken by ambulance to the Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

Police say the results of an autopsy performed in Burlington on Wednesday were “pending further investigation,” including toxicology testing.

Troopers were called to the Alburgh Community Education Center just before 7 p.m. Tuesday after getting a report of a “large fight” involving attendees of the game, which was being played by 7th- and 8th-grade boys from Alburgh and St. Albans, according to a news release.

The fight was over by the time troopers arrived, and many of the participants had left, police said.

Police did not say why Giroux had sought medical attention. The news release indicated that he was “one of” the people involved in the fight.

Giroux’s death is being investigated by state police and the Grand Isle state’s attorney’s office. His body will be brought to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington for an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of his death.