Boy Dies After Choking In Lunchroom At Wis. School

CLAYTON, Wis. (WCCO) -- A little boy from Wisconsin is dead after choking in the school lunchroom.

Griffin Randall, 6, died at the hospital Tuesday. It happened in Clayton, Wis., a town just east of Amery.

Students were able to talk to counselors when they got to school Wednesday in Clayton. There were concerns and questions about what happened in the lunch room to Randall.

Classmates said the first-grader, who used a wheelchair, choked on a meatball during lunch Tuesday. Griffin died at the hospital.

Shane Troff heard the news from his daughter, who is in kindergarten.

"I didn't know him or his family but my heart goes out to them.  You never expect that to happen at school. You have questions and wonder how," Troff said.

No one from the school district was available to talk on camera but sent a statement to parents about the incident.

"The Clayton School community has been deeply saddened by the tragic death of one of our own students.  Griffin will be remembered as a joyful, fun loving little boy," the statement reads.

Devonta Wallace heard the ambulance Tuesday but had no idea it was so serious.

"It sunk my heart. I know his sister," Wallace said.

A small town of just 500 people is now hurting after such a public tragedy.

"I just feel really bad for the family. Very bad for the family," Troff said.

Polk County dispatchers got a 911 call from the school Tuesday just after 11 a.m. Authorities said first responders got there and immediately took Griffin to the hospital in Amery about 10 minutes away, where he died.