STOUGHTON, Mass. (WFXT) – A community in Massachusetts is mourning the loss of an 11-year-old boy who collapsed and died while playing basketball.

It happened Tuesday night in the town of Stoughton.

“I guess I’m having a hard time, even myself, trying to understand what happened,” Stoughton Fire Chief Michael Carroll remarked.

The 11-year-old boy was a sixth grader at North Middle School in Brockton.

“Young, healthy, athletic, right? It just doesn’t compute,” Carroll added.

On Tuesday night at around 8 p.m., the unidentified boy was playing basketball at the Dana Barros Basketball Club in Stoughton when he collapsed suddenly.

Paramedics arrived in less than five minutes.

“They found an 11-year-old laying flat on the ground unconscious, unresponsive,” Carroll said.

Lifesaving efforts began immediately and continued while en route to Good Samaritan Hospital.

“They were unsuccessful at the hospital as well, so unfortunately, the 11-year-old did not make it,” Carroll said.

On Wednesday, the Dana Barros Basketball Club released a statement: “Our entire basketball community, especially his teammates and coaches, but all our club members and their families are devastated and heartbroken over this tragedy.”

The organization also said the “young man loved basketball. He was a cherished teammate and friend and it’s difficult to imagine the club moving forward without the presence of this smiling face.”

The Community Schools of Brockton shared the news to North Middle School parents.

“Heartbreaking, sad. You never know when things happen, so you got to love on your kids every day,” one parent reacted. “Tell them you love them every day.”

The boy’s cause of death hasn’t been released.

The basketball club’s statement also went on to thank the first responders who tried so hard save the boy.

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