🕯️ A shooting during a hockey game at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, left two victims dead. The suspected shooter also died, authorities said 379. Police called it a targeted incident and said it may have grown out of a family dispute. Three more people were hospitalized in critical condition 379810.
Officials said the suspect died from what they described as an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound 3. A law-enforcement source told Fox News the violence began as a domestic-violence incident and escalated into a murder-suicide 8. Police also credited a bystander who tried to intervene, which the police chief suggested helped bring the scene under control more quickly 8.
Sources
- BREAKING: Rhode Island Hockey Game Shooter Identified as ‘Transgender’ [pjmedia.com] (2026-02-17)
- Mass Shooting at Rhode Island School Hockey Game [pjmedia.com] (2026-02-16)
- 2 Killed in Shooting at High School Hockey Game in Rhode Island [nytimes.com] (2026-02-17)
- Transgender father Robert Dorgan ID’d as RI hockey shooter who gunned down family as sick posts revealed [nypost.com] (2026-02-17)
- Chilling livestream footage captured moment trans shooter opened fire at RI hockey game, killing 2 and injuring 3 [nypost.com] (2026-02-17)
- Woman claims ‘my father was the shooter’ who killed 2, self in RI high school hockey rampage [nypost.com] (2026-02-17)
- 3 killed, including suspect, in shooting during Rhode Island youth hockey game [scmp.com] (2026-02-16)
- Multiple people shot at Rhode Island ice rink in domestic violence-related murder-suicide [foxnews.com] (2026-02-16)
- 2 killed, 3 injured in Rhode Island ice rink shooting [thehill.com] (2026-02-16)
- Three people, including the suspect, are killed, and three others are injured in a mass shooting at an indoor ice rink in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States. [wpri.com] (2026-02-17)
Highlights
- Where and during what: Fox News said shots rang out during a Coventry vs. Blackstone Valley Schools game in Pawtucket 8.
- Suspect naming: Chief Tina Goncalves identified the suspect by the birth name Robert Dorgan. She said the person also went by Roberta and used the last name Esposito 8.
- Victim relationships: Goncalves said the victims included “family members and a family friend” 8.
- ATF account: A source with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives told Fox News the incident began as domestic violence and escalated into a murder-suicide; the source alleged the gunman killed his wife and shot children before turning the gun on himself 8.
- Video evidence: The New York Post said livestream footage captured the sound of roughly 11 gunshots as spectators fled 5.
Perspectives
Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves: She said the victims included “family members and a family friend,” and identified the suspect by the birth name Robert Dorgan. She said the person also went by Roberta and used the last name Esposito 8.
ATF source (as reported by Fox News): A source with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives told Fox News the shooting stemmed from a domestic-violence incident and became a murder-suicide 8.
Shooter’s daughter (as reported by the New York Post): A woman who said the shooter was her father told the New York Post he had “mental health issues” 6.