Three Rhode Island men could be facing charges in the death of a fan at Gillette Stadium during a New England Patriots game last month, officials said Thursday.
Dale Mooney, 53, of Newmarket, New Hampshire, was pronounced dead at a hospital after he had "an apparent medical event" in the 308/309 section of the stadium shortly before 11 p.m. at the Miami Dolphins game on Sept. 17, Massachusetts State Police have said. Witnesses have described a fight breaking out before the man's death.
The cause and manner of Mooney's death remain pending, Foxborough police said in a news release, noting that preliminary autopsy results did not suggest that he suffered a traumatic injury and did identify that he'd had a medical issue.
Police said they are seeking charges of assault and battery and disorderly conduct against the three Rhode Island men. Their names were not released. A member of the Wrentham District Court Clerk Magistrate Office will review the request for charges at an upcoming hearing, police said, at which point the names of the three men will become public.
Before the charges were brought, detectives interviewed witnesses and reviewed videos that captured the incident, police said. The investigation continued as of Thursday.
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Officials from the Patriots and Gillette Stadium have said they were "heartbroken to learn of the tragic passing of Dale Mooney," who had a season ticket for 30 years, and noted they were working with authorities during the investigation.
Cellphone video shared by one person at the game showed security rushing down to break up the fight, and paramedics attending to the injured man. The person said they saw one punch, "really hard on the side of the head," that knocked Mooney down.
"They were doing compressions by my estimation for easily 10 minutes," the witness has told NBC10 Boston. "It was pretty heartbreaking and the game was still going on so the general public clearly knew what was going on in our section so the game was going on, people are cheering for the Patriots comeback, and this poor guy has passed away before our eyes. It was pretty brutal to watch."
Mooney's wife told NBC10 Boston that he was a loving husband and father to their two boys, as well as a longtime Patriots fan who had been going to Gillette to support the team for multiple years without incident.
