PAWTUCKET, R.I. — A shooting at a Rhode Island hockey rink on Monday resulted in three fatalities, including the attacker, and left three others injured as two high school teams fled the ice amidst the chaos.
Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves informed reporters that a bystander helped to quickly defuse the situation on Monday afternoon by stepping in to restrain the shooter, who had been attending the game to support a relative. The shooter died from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, with authorities continuing their investigation.
“It seems this was a targeted incident, potentially stemming from a family conflict,” she stated.
Goncalves identified the shooter as Robert Dorgan, also known as Roberta Esposito, born in 1969. She did not disclose the ages of the deceased but confirmed they were both adults. The three injured individuals were reported to be in critical condition as of Monday evening.
The incident occurred in the stands at Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, located just outside Providence.
The game between the high school teams was being livestreamed. Footage later shared on social media captured several gunshots as players and coaches hurried off the ice at the rink’s far end. Additional videos showed players, still in their skates, seeking shelter in nearby businesses.
“I was on the ice, and at first I thought it was balloons,” said Olin Lawrence, a goalie from one of the teams, in an interview with WJAR, Rhode Island’s NBC affiliate. “It sounded like pop, pop, pop. I believed it was balloons. But as it continued, I realized it was gunfire. After the shots, my teammates and I rushed to the locker room and huddled together, pressing against the door to stay safe.”
“It was very frightening. We were extremely anxious.”
Outside the arena, tearful families and uniformed high school hockey players were seen embracing each other before getting on a bus to leave the scene. Roads surrounding the arena were closed to traffic as a significant police presence lingered, reopening later on Monday afternoon.
In a post on social media, the Boston Bruins expressed their profound sorrow that a venue meant for celebrating hockey and fostering community was marred by violence.
A statement from the Boston Bruins: pic.twitter.com/7orJgA3myz
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) February 16, 2026
The Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, and Revolution also released statements expressing their support.
This shooting follows an unrelated gun violence incident nearly two months prior at Brown University, where a gunman killed two students and injured nine others. That assailant also went on to fatally shoot a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Authorities later found Claudio Neves Valente, 48, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at a storage facility in New Hampshire.
“Luckily, the two incidents are not connected, but it remains a tragic situation,” commented Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien. “These are high school students engaged in an event, with fans present, and it escalated into this.”
Information from The Associated Press was included in this report.
