Everything We Know About Death Of Patriots Fan After Fight At Sunday’s Game
A tragic scene unfolded Sunday night at Gillette Stadium, and it’s prompted an investigation from local authorities.
Dale Mooney, a 53-year-old Patriots fan from Newmarket, N.H., was pronounced dead Sunday evening at Sturdy Hospital in Attleboro, Mass. Mooney suffered an “apparent medical event” while attending New England’s Week 2 loss to the Miami Dolphins, according to Massachusetts State Police.
Mooney’s death occurred after an altercation with another fan, according to witnesses to spoke to local news outlets. Authorities haven’t confirmed those details, but have announced an investigation into “the facts and circumstances of the man’s death, including the sequence of events prior to the medical incident,” per WBTS-CD.
Videos of the altercation that purportedly preceded Mooney’s death were shared by WJAR-TV on Monday evening and can be viewed by clicking here. The footage shows a Miami Dolphins fan throwing a punch at a man witnesses claimed to be Mooney, but those details weren’t confirmed by authorities as of late Tuesday morning.
“It was really one punch that I saw and the victim got punched really hard on the side of the head and went down,” a witness told WBTS-CD. “He’s a bigger guy but he just crumbled.”
Another witness told WFXT: “It looked like people grabbing and pulling at each other at first at some point (and) the guy in the Dolphins jersey punched the victim twice in the face and that’s when the victim fell into his seat unconsciousness.”
Mooney’s wife, Lisa, told WFXT that her husband, a season ticket holder of 30 years, was being “taunted” by several Dolphins fans during the game before the alleged altercation took place. She didn’t attend the game and was relaying testimonies.
She also described Mooney as a “good dad” and said footage obtained at Gillette Stadium will prove her husband didn’t throw any punches.
There were no charges filed as of late Tuesday morning, according to authorities. WFXT reported that investigators are “now waiting on the Medical Examiner’s findings to help determine if that confrontation played a role in Mooney’s death.”
The Patriots did not immediately respond to NESN.com when contacted for a statement.