Local police have identified a gunman suspected of targeting family members in a mass shooting at an indoor ice rink in Rhode Island that has left at least two dead and multiple others injured.
Chaos erupted at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, near Providence, on Monday at around 2:30 p.m. local time, as gunfire rang out during a high school hockey game.
“It appears that a lone individual, the suspect, entered the arena to watch the hockey game of a family member, and unfortunately during that time, a shooting occurred,” Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves told reporters Monday evening.
Goncalves identified the suspected shooter’s birth name as Robert Dorgan. The suspect goes “by the name of Roberta, also uses a last of Esposito,” and was born in 1969, Goncalves added.
Goncalves said a “good samaritan stepped in and interjected in this scene and that’s probably what led to a swift end of this tragic event.”
Aside from the victims who died, three more were injured and are currently in critical condition, police said.
“An act of senseless violence has taken the lives of two innocent victims with the suspect taking his own life,” Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien told reporters Monday night.
The suspected shooter died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to authorities. It wasn’t immediately clear what led to the shooting.
“It seems that this is a targeted event and it may have been a family dispute,” Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves told reporters earlier Monday. She later added that a family friend was also involved in the incident.
Local outlet WPRI reported that the father of a North Providence High School senior shot five family members. A woman told WCVB-TV that the suspected shooter was her father.
Authorities said firearms were recovered at the arena but wouldn’t confirm how many firearms the suspect had.
State police officers were seen outside the ice rink behind crime scene tape earlier Monday.
There were also FBI agents at the scene, according to the agency’s field office in Boston.
FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X that FBI Boston was responding to the shooting, adding, “We will provide state and local law enforcement any and all resources necessary and keep the public updated as we are able.
“In the meantime please pray for the victims and their families.”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also responded to the shooting, according to its Boston Field Division.
The shooting happened during a hockey game between two local co-op teams: Coventry-Johnston and St. Raphael-Providence Country Day-North Providence-North Smithfield.
A Walgreens employee told WPRI that panicked patrons came into the nearby pharmacy saying there was a shooting. The police were called, according to the employee.
One hockey player from Coventry Public Schools told reporters that the shooting was “very scary.”
The student was on the ice when shots rang out. He then rushed into the locker room.
"We pressed against the door and just tried to stay safe down in there. It was very scary. We were very nervous," he said, per CBS Boston. "It was a lot of shots."
WJAR shared a clip from a livestream that it says was taken during the hockey game at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena. In the video, gunshots were fired, prompting players to quickly skate off the ice to safety.
The Independent has reached out to authorities to verify the video. A representative for the City of Providence confirmed to The Independent that the video was taken from the arena.
Goncalves asked for the public’s help in the investigation by giving information to the Pawtucket Police Department.
“Any recordings that they may have, because obviously people were recording, their kids were on the ice...provide those to the police department,” the chief said.
Coventry and Johnston school districts said that all of their students are believed to be safe.
"All students from the Coventry Boys Hockey team who were present at an incident at Lynch Arena in Pawtucket have been accounted for and are safe,” Coventry's superintendent, Don Cowart, said in a message shared by WJAR.
Johnston Public Schools said, per WJAR, “We have confirmed that our Johnston High School student-athlete who was participating in the game is safe. We are also aware of another Johnston student who was in attendance, and that student is safe as well.
“At this time, to the best of our knowledge, no Johnston High School students were harmed during this incident."
Providence Country Day School wrote on an Instagram story that it was “shocked and saddened” by the shooting, adding that all students, parents and staff who were at the game are safe.
Joseph Goho, the superintendent of North Providence Public Schools, said in a statement shared by NBC10 Boston, “All students involved in the game are safe.”
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to those involved in this tragic incident," Goho said.
St. Raphael Academy, North Smithfield and North Providence officials also said their students were safe, per WJAR.
The Providence Bruins, the American Hockey League affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Boston Bruins, saidtin an online statement their “thoughts are with all those affected by the tragic events at the High School Hockey game at Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket today.”
Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee said in a video message posted to X, “Our state is grieving again. As governor, a parent and a former coach my heart breaks for the victims, families, and everyone impacted by the devastating shooting at Lynch Arena in Pawtucket.”
The shooting comes two months after a mass shooting at Brown University in Providence that left two students dead and nine others injured.
