What we know about shooting at hockey game in Pawtucket

Gunfire erupted at the Dennis M. Lynch arena on Andrew D. Ferland Way during the first period of the game, which began around 2 p.m. Monday.

The volley of gunfire sent spectators and players screaming and fleeing for the exits.

Authorities identified the suspected shooter as Robert Dorgan, 56, who also went by Roberta Esposito and who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside the arena.

Law enforcement officials haven’t named the victims but have confirmed that two people died in addition to the shooter.

Pawtucket’s police chief, Tina Goncalves, told reporters that three additional victims were hospitalized Monday but declined to identify them.

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Dorgan’s daughter, Ava Dorgan, 20, told the Globe Tuesday that her mother and older brother Aidan Dorgan were killed in the shooting. She said her mother’s parents, Linda and Jerry Dorgan, and her mother’s friend were injured and remain hospitalized in critical condition.

Court records show that Rhonda Dorgan filed for divorce from Robert Dorgan in February 2020. The divorce was finalized in June 2021, according to court records.

Ava Dorgan said her father worked on boats and had not done anything violent in the past. When asked if she and her siblings were close to their father, she said, “We were not in the last few years.”

“I don’t really want much business out there. I just want them to know that it was my mom and my brother and my dad,” Ava Dorgan said. “That’s all… Nothing [at] all.”

The surviving victims’ conditions weren’t immediately available Tuesday morning; officials said they were all listed in critical condition on Monday evening.

None of the players from either team were among the injured.

Authorities have yet to provide details on what motivated the shooting, except that it was a “targeted family dispute.”

North Providence Mayor Charles Lombardi said the shooting involved a family from his city.

He declined to comment further, citing the ongoing investigation.

The game was between the Coventry/Johnston co-op team and a Blackstone Valley schools co-op hockey program, which includes players from St. Raphael Academy and Providence Country Day, and North Providence and North Smithfield public schools.

Yes. Video posted on social media captures the sound of many shots fired, then an 11-second gap, and a final shot.

In another video obtained by the Globe, the shooter can be seen in the stands wearing a white winter hat and tan coat before pulling out a handgun and firing multiple times at people. Seconds later, as panic spread, a man in a black jacket is seen rushing the shooter from behind and wrestling the suspect to the ground.

Goncalves told reporters that “a good Samaritan stepped in and interjected in the scene.”

“That’s probably what led to a swift end of this tragic event,” she said.

What are officials saying?

Governor Dan McKee said Monday that Rhode Island “is grieving again,” recalling the mass shooting in December at Brown University, where two students were killed and nine others were wounded.

“As Governor, a parent, and a former coach, my heart breaks for the victims, families, students, and everyone impacted by the devastating shooting at Lynch Arena in Pawtucket,” McKee said in a statement.

Material from prior Globe stories was used. This story will be updated when more information is released.

Travis Andersen can be reached at [email protected].