By MICHAEL FRETT
Islander Staff Writer

SOUTH HERO – Not even a sheet of ice can keep some islanders from a morning swim in Lake Champlain.

​Since at least November, a group of Island residents have taken to Lake Champlain every few days, bonding initially over a daily winter swimming challenge that has gradually grown into a chance to hang out along the island’s shores.

“It’s become something we do every couple of days,” Matt Bartle, the owner of Wally’s Place and co-owner of Two Heroes Brewery in South Hero, told The Islander. “Now I just enjoy it.”

In the weeks and months since, the regular icy dips in Lake Champlain have become something Bartle said he and others enjoy, even prompting a “fear of missing out” whenever life keeps the Wally’s Place founder and Two Heroes Brewery co-owner from visiting the lake’s shores.

The group typically gathers at a member’s home on Lake Champlain. Typically, a few members wade out earlier than others to widen the gaps in the ice to accommodate the whole team. On days when the sun is out and there is little wind, Bartle said conditions can even feel warm above the water.

“You get used to it,” Bartle said.

While already a longstanding practice in much of the world, wintertime dips in lakes and ponds is becoming an increasingly popular activity among both professional athletes and everyday swimmers as some experts tout possible health benefits associated with chilly swims and others look for community activities like Burlington’s almost three decades old “Penguin Plunge” to brighten dour winters.

Some evidence exists showing cold water dips could positively impact people’s circulatory system and cut down the risks for chronic diseases like diabetes, as well as benefit the physical chemistry influencing people’s mental health, but much of the often-cited evidence for cold water swims is anecdotal and few existing studies appear conclusive.

Published research on cold water swimming is also often quick to note the practice comes with its own risks, particularly the chance for an immediate shock associated with icy lakeside dips.

For locals like Bartle, there are health benefits they are “all sort of aspiring to,” but the regular winter dips in Lake Champlain have been beneficial in other ways. Bartle described it as a “confidence booster” and “revitalizing,” as well as a chance to frequently socialize with a handful of fellow South Hero locals.

“For me, it’s been strangely addictive,” Bartle told The Islander. “For those of us who have children, we go over to this person’s house and it’s like a coffee hour – if you will.”

​“Mostly,” he added with a laugh, “it’s just cold.”

By MIKE DONOGHUE
Islander Staff Writer

Twenty one schools across Vermont, including in Alburgh, Milton, Colchester and Swanton, were subjected this morning to false reports of active shooters or gun incidents.
 
“These calls were a hoax—an act of terrorism designed to create chaos and stoke fear that can be exploited," Gov. Phil Scott said in a statement. 
 
“These events are unnerving for everyone – students, teachers, parents and Vermonters. We can use this energy to come together because unity is the most powerful way to ensure terrorists do not achieve their goals," Scott said.

Public Safety Commissioner Jennifer Morrison said there were 21 schools impacted by the calls starting at 8:30 a.m.  They covered 10 of the 14 counties and ranged from Alburgh to Brattleboro and from Bennington to Derby. 
She said it appeared to be a large-scale swatting scenario and the investigation was continuing.
 
The bogus report in Alburgh was initially made to the Town Offices and not the school, according to Grand Isle County Sheriff Ray Allen.  He said he thought the caller apparently wanted somebody else to make the 911 call, which are recorded.
 
Allen said he had a couple of deputy sheriffs at the Alburgh Community Education Center (ACEC)  within a couple of minutes.  The deputies confirmed it was a hoax.
 
The other 20 false reports were called into police agencies, Morrison said.

Authorities are still sorting out the hoax calls, but perhaps the most serious one appears to have been received in Montpelier, where the report said two people had been shot at the high school,  police said. 

Colchester Police said they received a report at 9:39 a.m. that several students and a teacher were injured.  Officers responded, did a sweep of the school and cleared from the scene about 10:15 a.m., Chief Doug Allen said.

He said by coincidence Colchester Police was hosting a training session involving other departments and those officers also responded to the emergency call. 

Milton High and Missisquoi Valley Union High School in Swanton also received threats, police said.  

Rice Memorial High School in South Burlington, which has students from the Champlain Islands region, also had a similar call, Police Chief Shawn Burke said.
 
"No acts of violence have been discovered," Burke said.  The officers cleared from Rice about 10:15 a.m.

Scott, along with law enforcement and education officials hosted a noon news conference to outline what they knew.  Also on hand were key legislative leaders.

When asked about giving attention to the publicity-seeking hoaxer, Scott said transparency trumps other options when it comes to major incidents.

Education Secretary Dan French said other schools besides the 21 may also take safety steps today.  
 
Grand Isle Supervisory Union Superintendent Michael Clark said local officials reacted swiftly.
 
"Our GISU Administration worked with the Grand Isle Sheriff’s Department and our admin staff at ACEC and the other schools in GISU to quickly determine that our buildings were safe and that we followed our safety protocols.  Out of an abundance of caution we will have indoor recess today," Clark wrote. 
 
"These calls appear to be associated with ongoing nationwide hoax phone threats of school shootings, bomb threats, etc. and the Vermont Intelligence Center is not aware of any credible threats related to these phone calls," he noted.
 
"As always, the GISU will continue to take precautions around the safety of our students and staff. If there are any updates or new information, we will be sure to share that with each of you. We are grateful for our partnership with the Grand Isle Sheriff's Department," Clark said.

Scott also appreciated the work of police responding to all the emergencies.  
 
“I want to thank the Vermont State Police, local law enforcement and emergency response offices across the state for acting quickly and professionally based on the initial calls. 
 
“My office, the Agency of Education, Vermont State Police, Vermont Intelligence Center and local partners will continue to monitor this situation closely, and in the days ahead, after all the facts are gathered, we will debrief on this incident to strengthen our response," the Governor said.

By MIKE DONOGHUE
ISLANDER STAFF WRITER

The Grand Isle Supervisory Union District officials are banning fans from attending elementary school basketball games for the remainder of the season in the wake of a brawl involving adult fans at a junior high game earlier this week in Alburgh.
 
The fight became a national story when one of the adult fans on his way home was stricken about 45 minutes later and died, officials said.  The cause of death remains unknown.

Superintendent Michael Clark told The Islander today that the ban covers the final two weeks of the basketball season for games hosted by teams from Alburgh, Grand Isle, North Hero and South Hero.
 
There was no word about any impact on away basketball games played in nearby counties.
 
The GISU announcement, which came during the lunch hour, will have an immediate impact on games this afternoon when Grand Isle is scheduled to travel to Alburgh for contests between their 5th and 6th grade girls at 4 p.m. and the boys at 5 p.m.

The announcement letter from the school district noted athletics plays an important role in education.
 
"However, given the current environment, we also recognize that an immediate change must happen. To ensure the safety of all of our learning community, including students, faculty, staff, administration and the community who participates as spectators at our events, we have made the difficult decision to end spectator attendance at GISU home games for the remainder of the basketball season," the letter said.
 
The letter was signed by Clark, the 4 elementary school principals covering the buildings in Alburgh, Grand Isle, North Hero and South Hero, along with other district officials, including for business, facilities, human resources and technology.

The brawl happened during a 7th and 8th grade game when Alburgh hosted St. Albans City Elementary on Tuesday evening.  About two dozen adults were involved in the melee on the court during the second half of the boys game, according to video of the event. Some adults were involved in the fighting, while others appeared to try to be stopping it. 
 
Vermont State Police were summoned shortly before 7 p.m. for a report of a fight, but did not arrived until about 7:45 p.m. because some troopers were dealing with a car crash on Interstate 89, records show.

One of the adults believed to be involved in the incident was on his way home about 7:45 p.m. when he started feeling poorly, officials said. Russell Giroux, 60, was on U.S. 2 in Alburgh when he activated his OnStar alert system in his car and an ambulance brought him to Northwestern Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead, state police said.

The initial autopsy report does not have a cause of death and Vermont's Chief Medical Examiner Office said it was waiting for test results, including toxicology, police said.

By MICHAEL FRETT
Islander Staff Writer
ALBURGH – Voters approved Alburgh’s school district budget in a special election on Tuesday.
According to Donna Bohannon, Alburgh’s town clerk, voters approved the school district’s revised annual budget 85 to 58 in an election that saw a low turnout typical for special elections in Alburgh.
“For a revote, that’s pretty normal,” Bohannon said of the relatively low turnout seen Tuesday.
Voters in Alburgh originally defeated a previous budget proposal on Town Meeting Day, voting 170 to 152 against the annual budget funding both the Alburgh Community Education Center and affording tuition for high schoolers taught outside of Alburgh.
Following the budget’s defeat in March, school officials trimmed the school district’s proposed budget by $100,000, thinning the school’s annual operations and maintenance budget.
The revised $6.8 million education budget included funding for a new math interventionist position and for expanding a part-time guidance counselor position into a full-time position, as well as funding to cover the 10% increase in teacher health insurance premiums seen statewide.
In an interview with The Islander earlier this year, Alburgh’s school board chair, Michael Savage, said the revised budget would still likely be able to cover periodic maintenance needs at the school as well as programming needed to address COVID-19’s impact on Alburgh students.
Despite a lower equalized per pupil count and common level of appraisal, two variables in the complicated formula used by Vermont to determine education tax rates, the education tax rate in Alburgh is estimated to fall to just shy of $1.50 for every $100 of assessed property value.
In all, 192 elementary and middle school students are currently educated in the Alburgh Community Education Center.

By MICHAEL FRETT
Islander Staff Writer
 
GRAND ISLE – Grand Isle’s selectboard on Thursday backed an effort to explore potentially developing an outdoor ice skating pavilion doubling as a summer sports and performance space in Grand Isle, agreeing unanimously to endorse a grant application seeking funding to study the pavilion.
 
Brought by Grand isle residents Roth Perry, Levi Kraemer, Ralf Schaarschmidt and Ashley White, the proposed pavilion is only in an exploratory phase, currently working on fundraising for an engineering study exploring the feasibility of developing such a space in Grand Isle.
 
The selectboard asserted as much during Thursday’s hearing, stressing the hearing was regarding only a $60,000 planning grant the nonprofit organization formed to develop the pavilion needed selectboard support to access. The nonprofit would fundraise to cover the grant’s 10% match.
 
“I don’t believe we were considering a binding commitment at all,” selectperson Eric Godin said. “This was just to make these guys could get their paperwork rolling with these grants.”
 
Perry, a volunteer coach, said the idea for the pavilion stemmed from a lack of a reliable public skating rink in Grand Isle. A natural outdoor rink had been set up locally in the past, but according to Perry, inconsistent winter weather made it difficult to plan classes and programming for the rink.
 
“You’d go and you’d prep it, and then you’d have a warm-up that weekend,” Perry told The Islander after Thursday’s hearing. “You couldn’t have any programming.”
 
Initially looking at an artificially chilled rink covered with a pavilion, Perry said the idea “snowballed,” eventually evolving into a year-round space that would include a stage for performances and the ability to convert the rink into courts for other sports like pickleball and tennis during the warmer months.
 
According to the group of residents floating the pavilion idea, surveys distributed over social media and through several local organizations have pointed to there being overwhelming support for the pavilion project, with around 90% of the 290 responding residents signaling some interest in using the facility.
 
Organizers said the positive response seemed to show locals agreed that there was, in Perry’s words, interest among Grand Isle residents for more recreational opportunities on the island and “more opportunities to meet people.”
 
“I think people are really craving community,” White, one of the four organizers pitching the pavilion to Grand Isle’s selectboard Thursday, added during a subsequent interview with The Islander.
 
In the weeks since the idea was first proposed, the pavilion has also drawn support from the Grand Isle Recreation Commission and local pickleball association, as well as the Island Stage Vermont Theater and the Champlain Islands Farmers’ Market, Perry told the selectboard during Thursday’s hearing.
 
“There is a paucity of venues in the islands for theater,” Noni Stuart, the president of Island Stage, told Grand Isle’s selectboard. “Really, the only viable theater is in North Hero, and that’s a wonderful space, but we don’t have anything further south, and I just feel like this might give us an opportunity.”
 
Judy Steacy, speaking for Island Arts, echoed Stuart’s sentiments during Thursday’s hearing.
 
“We have the barn up in North Hero, but we’re looking maybe expand as well and have different performing arts we could bring to other communities,” Steacy said. “If that was something we could expand upon, that would be great.”
 
While initially imagined for either Donaldson Park or the town-owned land abutting Grand Isle’s town office and fire station, Perry and several other residents involved with the nonprofit organization sponsoring the pavilion said they would also be open to building on private property as well.
 
Part of the study sought by the pavilion’s supporters was deciding where the pavilion could ostensibly be built in Grand Isle, something Perry stressed was not explicitly focused on town property, and already town interests in potentially developing land near its offices ruled out housing the pavilion nearby.
 
Focus had fallen on Donaldson Park, however, an area where, in previous meetings, local officials had discussed attempting to drive up traffic to help discourage vandalism in the park and an area, Perry told the selectboard, recreation commissioners hoped more people would regularly use.
 
While the proposed pavilion drew vocal support from some during Thursday’s hearing, others expressed concern with potentially siting the new pavilion on town land, citing in particular the town’s possible responsibility for the project should Donaldson Park come to host the pavilion.
 
Perry and others associated with the project asserted the pavilion’s construction and maintenance would be independently supported through fundraising by their nonprofit organization, the Islands Community Pavilion Organization, pledging new taxes would not be needed for the new pavilion.
 
Josie Leavitt, the selectboard’s vice chair, said any future construction in Donaldson Park would be prefaced by a memorandum of understanding between the town’s government and the pavilion’s nonprofit outlining maintenance responsibilities, insurance liabilities and other details.
 
“There are lots of ways to protect the town in terms of ensuring there is no rise to property taxes and, you know, the tax base in general,” Leavitt said.
 
Announcements regarding the grant application the selectboard endorsed Thursday, a Vermont Community Development Program grant, will likely not be made until this coming June.

By MIKE DONOGHUE
Islander Staff Writer

NORTH HERO -- The Grand Isle County Courthouse in North Hero should be open again five days a week by March 1, according to Scott Griffith, the Interim State Court Administrator.

Griffith on Thursday, in response to the latest series email from Grand Isle State's Attorney Doug DiSabito, wrote that an employee from Securitas, the Judiciary’s private security vendor, will be available to help fill the needs for screening at the courthouse. 

Chittenden County Sheriff Kevin McLaughlin also has made a commitment to help, Griffith wrote.

DiSabito said resuming fulltime operations is great news for Grand Isle County residents that want to have their judicial services delivered in their home county.
 
DiSabito has been helping lead the charge since former Court Administrator Patricia Gabel ordered the historic county courthouse closed on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays last August due to staffing shortages for security.

DiSabito, along with the three state senators and two state legislators that serve Grand Isle County, have been among the officials pushing for fulltime service to resume.  The state eventually resumed four-day service last fall, but DiSabito kept pushing for restoration of full service.

He maintained Grand Isle County should never be treated any less than all the other counties in Vermont.
 
"Persistence pays off," DiSabito told The Islander when reached by phone on Thursday.

Griffith said many people have been involved in the talks and he cited John Campbell, executive director for the Vermont State's Attorneys and Sheriffs and his staff in Montpelier. 

State Sen. Dick Mazza, D-Grand Isle/Colchester and Sen. Corey Parent, R-Franklin/Alburgh, who serve on the Senate Institutions Committee, said Thursday they are continuing to work on securing funds to ensure improvements required due to COVID restrictions can be implemented at several courthouses, including in North Hero.

Mazza said the legislators and judiciary have been working on trying to restore full court services throughout Vermont, but he was especially concerned about Grand Isle County. 

Parent, as part of an email chain, told Griffith that there will be a push to ensure proper funding for the Judiciary in the Capital budget for the upgrades in North Hero.
 
State Senate Minority Leader Randy Brock, R-Franklin/Alburgh upon learning about the increased service, sent a return email to Griffith thanking him.
 
"This is very good news and your continued work to re-open fully the Grand Isle Courthouse is very much appreciated,"  Brock wrote.

Grand Isle Sheriff Ray Allen had notified the state last April that his deputy assigned to courthouse security would be retiring during the summer and the department would not have anybody to replace him.  Allen said the state judiciary would have to take back the security contract at the courthouse.

The state did not take enough constructive steps to fill the void by the time the deputy retired.   Gabel ordered services reduced to two days a week.  The Selectboards in at least three towns in the county became upset by the loss of services and Chairman Jeff Parizo in Grand Isle began to organize a county-wide meeting.  He later punted the organizing to DiSabito and his staff.

Three key figures from the Court Administrators Office came to Grand Isle in September for the county-wide meeting with state legislators, town officials and taxpayers concerned that they could not get legal services in the county.  Among those attending was one judge and one retired judge, who were not impressed by the reduced service for Family, Civil, Criminal and Probate divisions.

By October, Griffith said a temporary plan was developed for security services for 4 days a week.  That has continued on, but DiSabito  and others kept asking when full service would resume.  
 
It now looks like it is just less than two weeks away.

By ISLANDER STAFF
NORTH HERO -- Grand Isle County State’s Attorney Doug DiSabito said Tuesday that the triple shooting leaving two dead and one seriously wounded in Alburgh was pointless.
“This was a senseless shooting of two people after a brief, petty dispute over hunting rights on a certain parcel of land,” DiSabito told The Islander.  The shooting is the first reported homicide case in Grand Isle County since DiSabito was sworn in as its chief prosecutor in February 2015.
DiSabito responded to the scene shortly after the shooting late Saturday night and has continued to work with state police.
He said he is shocked that people are turning more to firearms to settle disputes.
“Shortly after this tragic event occurred, there was a reported road rage incident in Chittenden County where shots were allegedly fired.  And then there was the murder suicide in Lamoille County after that.  All senseless and heartbreaking.  People must keep their tempers in check, and not resort to such devastating violence,” he said.
“Where is all this hatred originating from in our society?  It has no place in our communities,” DiSabito said in his email.
“On a related note, I am incredibly disappointed by the various posts and comments on social media—people are spewing hatred at each other, providing misinformation, disparaging law enforcement, criticizing press releases, and so on.  It is so incredibly divisive and serves absolutely no legitimate purpose.  It just perpetuates more hatred and division, at a time when we should be providing kind words and consolation to the families and friends affected by this tragedy,” he said.
DiSabito reported his office is continuing to work with Vermont State Police, its Bureau of Criminal Investigations and Vermont’s Chief Medical Examiner “with the goal of completing this investigation and finding out every fact that led up to the death of two Islanders.”
He wrapped up his comments: “I extend both my sincere appreciation for all the first responders and law enforcement officers who responded to the scene, and my heartfelt condolences to all the families and friends of the deceased.”

By MIKE DONOGHUE
Islander Staff Writer

ALBURGH --  The deaths of two Alburgh men following a wild shootout outside a home on Cameron Drive have both been ruled homicides by Vermont's Chief Medical Examiner and Vermont State Police.

David Mohamed, 51, died from multiple gunshot wounds to the torso, while Larry P. Cameron, 41, died from a single gunshot wound to the torso, according to the autopsies conducted on Monday.    

Cameron’s cousin, Devin Cameron, 27, of Alburgh remains in critical condition at the University of Vermont Medical Center after being struck by multiple gunshots, including critical injuries to his arm. 

The triple shooting happened outside Larry Cameron’s residence and was the culmination of feud that had simmered for about a week on who had the right to hunt on land in North Hero owned by an out-of-stater.

It reached a boiling point on Saturday evening and ended with shots flying shortly before 10 p.m. on the private single-lane dead end road.

Friends of the three men had told The Islander that there had been some public feuding and threats on social media leading up to the shooting.

State police also confirmed that shortly before the shooting a fistfight between Devin Cameron and David Mohamed had happened at Dillenback Bay fishing access in Alburgh.  

Mohamed got the losing end of that fight and the two Camerons left the access, according to police.

Police said Mohamed then drove to Larry Cameron's home in an apparent search to continue the dispute.  He was accompanied by two friends -- a 23-year-old man and 25-year-old man, both from North Hero -- in a separate vehicle. 

State police outlined the shooting in the following way:

"Investigators learned Larry Cameron then came out of the garage area of his home carrying a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun and fired multiple shots into the air in an effort to prompt Mohamed to leave. By this time, Devin Cameron, who was unarmed, had joined Larry Cameron beside the driver’s door of Mohamed’s pickup truck while Mohamed remained seated inside," police said.

"Mohamed then brandished a .308 rifle. A struggle ensued over the rifle, and there was an exchange of gunfire from the armed men. Mohamed was struck multiple times by rounds from the handgun. Larry Cameron was struck once by a rifle round.  Devin Cameron sustained multiple gunshot wounds," police said.

State police said the investigation is continuing and that when completed they will ask Grand Isle County State’s Attorney Doug DiSabito to determine whether to file any charges on the shooting or any events leading up to it. 

DiSabito, who arrived at the scene shortly after the shooting, has worked with police over the past 3 days.

Law enforcement got involved when 911 calls about the shooting began shortly before 10 p.m.  The U.S. Border Patrol due to the agency's close proximity, was the first with officers at the scene about 10:17 p.m.  The Border Patrol  eventually secured the site and offered first aid to the wounded and by 10:21 Alburgh Rescue was cleared to come down the road.

State troopers arrived at 10:25 p.m. and began the investigation.  It was about 10:45 p.m. before Alburgh Rescue was able to leave the scene with Devin Cameron.

Missisquoi Valley Rescue and Grand Isle Rescue also responded.

The Islander will update this story for the print edition.

By MIKE DONOGHUE
Islander Staff Writer

*Updated 11/28/2021, 6:10 p.m.*

ALBURGH --  The names of the victims in the triple shooting that left two people dead and one critically injured in Alburgh have been released by authorities.

David Mohamed,  51, of Alburgh and Larry P. Cameron, 41, of Alburgh were found dead on Cameron Drive shortly after 10 p.m. Saturday, state police said.

Cameron’s cousin, Devin Cameron, 27, of Alburgh remains in critical condition at  the University of Vermont Medical Center.

The triple shooting happened outside Larry Cameron’s residence and centers on a simmering feud over the past week or so on who had the right to use land for hunting.  It reached a boiling point on Saturday evening.

State police said they do not expect to rule on the types of shootings in each of  the three cases.  That is expected to come after the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington completes autopsies.
​
State police spokesman Adam Silverman said the department expects to issue an update following the autopsies on Monday.

*Updated 11/28/2021, 1:32 p.m.*

ALBURGH --  Two men are dead and a third man is in serious condition following a triple shooting outside a residence on Cameron Drive, south of route 78 in Alburgh late Saturday night.

Names of the three local men are being held pending further investigation and notification of their families, Vermont State Police said.

At a press conference held Sunday afternoon, Captain Scott Dunlap, head of the Major Crimes Squad said the shooting appeared to center around an “ongoing dispute regarding hunting on some property, hunting access.”

He later said the dispute had been ongoing for about a week.

“One man was in his early 40’s. One man was in his early 50’s” Dunlap said.

The wounded man is in his late twenties and listed in critical but stable condition according to Dunlap.

The report of a triple shooting was received about 10 p.m. and the U.S. Border Patrol was able to secure the scene so that the Alburgh Rescue squad could reach the victims, officials said. Missisquoi Valley Rescue and Grand Isle Rescue also responded to the initial call.

The initial plan was to airlift the wounded man to a hospital, but eventually an ambulance rushed him to the UVM Medical Center where he underwent emergency services, officials said.

Grand Isle County State's Attorney Doug DiSabito also responded to the scene to assist state police, who eventually arrived.
 
The shooting is believed to have involved just the three men and no gunman was on the loose.

"All the people involved are accounted for," DiSabito told the County Courier at the scene.
 
DiSabito, who helped secure a search warrant for the property, said there were two other witnesses at the scene during the shooting.

Detectives and members of the Major Crime Squad were asked to respond to work with the initial responding road troopers. 
 
By Sunday morning investigators were waiting for the Vermont State Police Mobile Crime Lab to be driven to the scene.  The daylight allowed for the crime scene specialists to better comb the area for clues.  The area was sealed off with yellow police tape.

There is no ongoing threat to public safety, police said.   

Following the initial investigation, the plan was to transport the bodies of the two dead men to the morgue in Burlington for autopsies by the office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office to determine the specific cause and manner of death for each.

The two bodies remained at the scene Sunday afternoon until after the Crime Scene specialists had a chance to look for evidence.  
 
Anyone with information that could assist the investigation is asked to contact state police at (802) 524-5993.

**********

11/28/2021 - 12:27 p.m.

ALBURGH --  Two men are dead and a third man is in serious condition following a triple shooting outside a residence on Cameron Drive in Alburgh late Saturday night.

Names of the three local men are being held pending further investigation and notification of their families, Vermont State Police said.

The shooting appears to be related to a dispute over deer hunting. 

The report of a triple shooting was received about 10 p.m. and the U.S. Border Patrol was able to secure the scene so that the Alburgh Rescue squad could reach the victims, officials said. Missisquoi Valley Rescue and Grand Isle Rescue also responded to the initial call.

The initial plan was to airlift the wounded man to a hospital, but eventually an ambulance rushed him to the UVM Medical Center where he underwent emergency services, officials said.

Grand Isle County State's Attorney Doug DiSabito also responded to the scene to assist state police, who eventually arrived.

The shooting is believed to have involved just the three men and no gunman was on the loose.

"All the people involved are accounted for," DiSabito told the County Courier at the scene.

Detectives and members of the Major Crime Squad were asked to respond to work with the initial responding road troopers. 
 
By Sunday morning investigators were waiting for the Vermont State Police Mobile Crime Lab to be driven to the scene.  The daylight allowed for the crime scene specialists to better comb the area for clues.  The area was sealed off with yellow police tape.

There is no ongoing threat to public safety, police said.   
 
Following the initial investigation, the plan was to transport the bodies of the two dead men to the morgue in Burlington for autopsies by the office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office to determine the specific cause and manner of death for each.

The Vermont State Police along with DiSabito is expected to hold a press conference this afternoon at the Alburgh Fire Station.
 
Anyone with information that could assist the investigation is asked to contact state police at (802) 524-5993.