A New Hampshire man was beaten to death while attending Sunday night's New England Patriots-Miami Dolphins NFL game in Foxborough, Massachusetts, according to the victim's widow.
Longtime Patriots season-ticket holder Dale Mooney, 53, did not throw a single punch while being attacked by a Dolphins fan at Gillette Stadium during Miami's 24-17 victory, Lisa Mooney told Boston 25 News.
Lisa Mooney said she heard her husband, a father of two, was being taunted by multiple Dolphins fans during the game, and that video footage shows he did not retaliate.
Massachusetts State Police said Dale Mooney suffered an "apparent medical event" in the stadium's 308/309 section during the fourth quarter of the game at about 11 p.m. He was rushed to Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro, Massachusetts, where he was pronounced dead just before midnight, Boston 25 News reported.
"Numb. I just feel numb," Lisa Mooney told WCVB. "I just can't even believe this is for real. I just don't understand why people have to go to that extreme. Why can't it just be fun? That's all it's supposed to be, a fun family event."
Video sent to Boston 25 News showed stadium security moving in to break up an apparent scuffle before Mooney lost consciousness.
"It looked like people grabbing and pulling at each other at first at some point in the guy in the Dolphins jersey punched the victim twice in the face, and that's when the victim fell into his seat unconscious," witness Joey Kilmartin told the station.
"The guy in the Dolphins jersey got hauled away by police, and that's when everybody noticed something was wrong. A minute or so later the guy still hadn't made any movement. It really didn't look like he was breathing."
Boston 25 News reported that investigators were waiting on the medical examiner's findings to help determine if the altercation played a role in Mooney's death.
Lisa Mooney told WCVB that her husband, a 30-year season-ticket holder from Newmarket, New Hampshire, had no medical condition that she knew about.
"It takes a lot to get him mad," she told the station. "He has the patience of a saint. I don't know what happened."
No charges had been filed, the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office said.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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