An American father of two died after an incident at an American football game in which he was punched in the face and knocked unconscious by a fan of an opposing team, according to a witness.
Dale Mooney, 53, was treated at the scene by paramedics and taken to hospital after an “apparent medical incident” but was pronounced dead shortly before midnight, the reports New York Post.
The incident occurred at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, southwest of Boston, between the NFL teams New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins.
Mr. Mooney was a Patriots fan.
A viewer has now claimed he witnessed a physical altercation between Mr Mooney and another fan.
“The Dolphins fan comes over and clearly punches him in the face,” Joey Kilmartin of Nashua, New Hampshire, told the website MassLive. “(He) passes out and you can tell right away he’s not feeling well.”
Mr. Kilmartin told the news outlet that Mr. Mooney also got into a physical altercation with other fans late in the fourth quarter.
He said Mr. Mooney never regained consciousness after the blow and that paramedics performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him before taking him to Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro, a town near Providence, Rhode Island. would have brought.
“It's an unfortunate situation. I feel sorry for the family,” said Mr Kilmartin, who described the incident to Foxborough police.
He provided the television station with a video of the incident ABC WCVBwhich released images from the clip showing Mr. Mooney taking off his shirt.
The footage shows Mr Mooney walking towards other fans on the 300 level of the stadium.
“He basically grabbed another fan,” Mr. Kilmartin told WCVB. “They started arguing for a few minutes. At some point another fan came by. He hit him…and the man just walked out. It was pretty hard to watch.”
Mr Mooney's wife, Lisa, said she felt “numb” and was searching for answers about the tragedy.
“I want to know what happened. “What caused this?” she told WCVB. “I just don’t understand why people have to go to such extremes. Why can't it just be fun? That’s everything it’s supposed to be – a fun family event.”
Ms Mooney said her husband – a father of two and a season ticket holder for 30 years – went to the game with three friends who told her they had been taunted by other fans.
“It takes a lot to make him angry. He has the patience of a saint. I don’t know what happened,” she told the outlet, adding that her husband has no illness that she knows of.
No charges were filed, although Mr Kilmartin told MassLive he witnessed police taking a man into custody.
The Massachusetts State Police were tasked with the investigation.
The results of the autopsy are still pending.
This story appeared in the New York Post and is reproduced with permission.
