What was supposed to be a simple livestream for family and friends turned into a nightmare after a gunman opened fire at a high school hockey team's senior tournament--sending players and spectators fleeing for their lives.
Gunfire broke out inside Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, around 2:30 p.m., leaving two people dead and three others wounded. Police say the shooting stemmed from what they are investigating as a family dispute. The gunman who later took his life has since been identified as Robert Dorgan, who went by a female name. The 56-year-old father shot family members and a family friend before turning the gun on himself on Monday.
Shocking Moment of Rampage
Dorgan was later found dead inside the arena, close to one of the people who had been killed. A game between two co-op teams was underway when the sound of about 11 gunshots suddenly shattered the action, as captured in the chilling livestream footage.
As shots rang out, students and spectators in the stands instinctively dropped to the floor, while the players on the ice were left exposed with nowhere to take cover. Thankfully, none of the athletes appeared to be hurt as they scrambled off the rink and reportedly locked themselves inside the locker room for safety.
Panic swept through the arena as people in the stands rushed for the exits. Players stuck in the penalty box squeezed out two at a time—some even abandoning their skates in the chaos.
Others leapt over the boards surrounding the rink and ran to join their teammates in the locker room, according to the video.
Screams filled the arena, and adults were heard desperately relaying instructions over the noise and confusion. One group of spectators near the Blackstone Valley Schools bench, however, remained in their seats as the frightening scene unfolded around them.
Panic All Around
Branden Mello, a local sports editor who was attending the game, said the shooter was sitting in the top row of the stands near the Blackstone Valley Schools' bench before moving closer to the court and opening fire at people in the "second or third row."
Mello added that another parent managed to wrestle a gun away from the suspect, but the attacker still "had a second weapon" and fired once more.
Students from Coventry, Johnston, North Providence, and North Smithfield high schools were inside the arena, along with students from St. Raphael Academy and Providence Country Day School.
Officials from St. Raphael Academy, Coventry's superintendent, and Johnston Public Schools later confirmed that all of their students were safe and had been fully accounted for.
It has since been revealed that Dorgan used a female name. "We have identified the person, the suspect, by a birth name, the birth name was Robert Dorgan," Goncalves said.
"We have also learned that the person does go by the name of Roberta, also uses a last name of Esposito."
Dorgan is the father of a North Providence High School senior who was taking part in the hockey tournament, according to local station WPRI.
Multiple sources told the station that the student's mother and sibling were among those killed. The child's mother died at Lynch Arena, while the sibling later died at the hospital, according to those sources.
A woman who was seen leaving the Pawtucket Police Station earlier that day said the shooter was her father, describing him as someone who "has mental health issues" and is "very sick."
"He shot my family, and he's dead now," she said.
