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A gunman opened fire Monday during a youth hockey game at an ice rink in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, police said, targeting family members and killing an ex-wife and a son as people in the stands scrambled for safety. Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves said Rhonda Dorgan and adult son Aidan Dorgan were killed in the attack.
Goncalves said the shooting also left three other people injured, including Rhonda Dorgan’s parents, Linda and Gerald Dorgan, and a family friend, Thomas Geruso. She said all three remained in critical condition Tuesday afternoon.
Authorities identified the shooter as 56-year-old Robert Dorgan, who died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Goncalves said Dorgan also went by the names Roberta Esposito and Roberta Dorgano.
Goncalves said there was “no indication” violence would occur at the Pawtucket ice rink on Monday afternoon. She said Dorgan had attended many hockey games to watch family members play before without incident.
Police said the attack appears to have followed a dispute between the shooter and his ex-wife. The Associated Press reported that court filings show Rhonda Dorgan filed for divorce in 2020 after nearly 30 years of marriage, and that the filing initially listed “gender reassignment surgery, narcissistic + personality disorder traits” before crossing that out and writing “irreconcilable differences which have caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage.”
Court records cited by the AP indicated that Rhonda Dorgan and Robert Dorgan shared the same last name even before they married, though authorities have not provided additional details. The reporting also described social media posts in which Dorgan used variants of the name Roberta and discussed the couple’s marital problems and transgender-related criticism.
Goncalves said the attack ended after several people intervened. She said “good Samaritans” quickly stopped the shooting, and that at least three bystanders were able to contain Dorgan in the middle of the stands as the crowd fled.
Goncalves said Dorgan nevertheless reached for a second firearm and then died from a self-inflicted gunshot. The Associated Press also reported that the youth hockey game was livestreamed by LiveBarn, and that clips shared on social media showed players on the ice and fans diving for cover as popping sounds were heard.
LiveBarn’s social media account issued warnings to people who shared video footage that it did not have permission. Michael Steven, who recorded video after the shooting, told reporters that parents were crying while trying to locate their children and that young people were taken out on stretchers, adding, “It happens far too often in our nation.”
In the days and years leading into Monday’s attack, co-workers described Dorgan as having a difficult temper and said Dorgan was known at work by the name Roberta. David Hench, a shipyard spokesperson for General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, said Dorgan was an employee at the Navy shipbuilding facility and that co-workers said Dorgan used the first name Roberta.
Co-worker accounts provided to the Associated Press included that Dorgan often talked about family, and another co-worker described Dorgan as sometimes having screaming matches at work. Another colleague, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of workplace reprisals, said Dorgan appeared to be “split” on transgender acceptance, and the AP reported that the colleague said Dorgan owned guns but was unsure how many.
A Marine Corps spokesman, Maj. Jacoby Getty, told the Associated Press that Dorgan briefly served in the Marine Corps and was separated less than three months after enlisting on April 26, 1988. Getty said the rapid discharge indicated character “was incongruent with Marine Corps’ expectations and standards.”
In Pawtucket and nearby communities, people continued to respond to the deaths and injuries Tuesday, including a vigil held at Slatersville Congregational Church in North Smithfield. Amy Goulet, whose son plays hockey in the community, said it was “absolutely mind-boggling that this could happen to people we know and love and support through everything.”