Shooter killed ex-wife and a son in Rhode Island ice rink attack, police say

PAWTUCKET, R.I. (AP) — A person who opened fire Monday during a youth hockey game at an ice rink in Rhode Island killed their ex-wife and one son, authorities said Tuesday.

Pawtucket Chief of Police Tina Goncalves said the victims were the shooter’s ex-wife Rhonda Dorgan and adult son Aidan Dorgan. Three others were injured: the parents of the shooter’s ex-wife and a family friend, Goncalves said. Police said the shooter died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Police identified the shooter as 56-year-old Robert Dorgan, who also went by the name Roberta Esposito.

Goncalves said there was “no indication” there would be violence at the ice rink in Pawtucket on Monday afternoon, adding that Dorgan had been to many hockey games before without incident. She said it doesn’t appear that Dorgan had any conversation or confrontation with relatives before the shooting happened.

Investigators had spoken to nearly 100 witnesses as of Monday evening as they attempt to piece together what happened earlier that afternoon inside the Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, a few miles outside Providence.

Goncalves on Monday credited an unnamed “good Samaritan” who intervened, bringing the attack “to a swift end.”

She said Tuesday at least three bystanders were able to contain Dorgan but said Dorgan was still able to reach for a second firearm. Dorgan then died of a self-inflicted gunshot, Goncalves said.

The hockey game was livestreamed by LiveBarn, a streaming platform for youth sporting events, whose videos have been shared on social media showing players on the ice as popping sounds are heard. Chaos quickly unfolds as players on benches dive for cover, those on the ice frantically skate toward exits and fans flee their seats.

LiveBarn’s social media account has been issuing warnings to those who shared the video that they do not have permission to do so.

Dorgan was an employee of General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, a ship building facility in Bath, Maine, that contracts with the U.S. Navy, David Hench, a spokesperson for the shipyard, said Tuesday. Hench did not respond to questions about Dorgan’s job title or how long they worked at the shipyard.

A colleague, Destiny Mackenzie, recalled that Dorgan used the women’s bathroom and that the two of them would often talk about family. Mackenzie said Dorgan’s ex-wife never came up in conversation but a hockey-playing son was a frequent topic.

“What was supposed to be some seniors’ only chance at playoff games is now ruined,” she wrote in a message to The Associated Press. “Images that these kids and family’s now have to live with. That’s who I send my condolences to is those families. The reality of our gun laws needs a major reconsideration and it unfortunate guns land in the hands of such sick individuals.”

Mackenzie said the shooter, who was often called Roberta at work, had a bad temper that sometimes led to screaming matches with colleagues.

Another coworker said Dorgan appeared to be split on the issue of transgender acceptance, one second being proud of transitioning and the next, embarrassed. That coworker, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of workplace reprisals, said they knew Dorgan owned guns but was unsure how many.

Dorgan briefly served in the Marine Corps, enlisting on April 26, 1988, according to military records provided by the service, but his service was short-lived. Less than three months later, on July 13, he was separated from the service with the lowest military rank.

Maj. Jacoby Getty, a Marine Corps spokesman, told The Associated Press that the rapid discharge indicated “the character of his service was incongruent with Marine Corps’ expectations and standards.”

Getty declined to provide more detail.

Michael Steven, who recorded video after the shooting, recalled crying parents trying to locate their children outside the arena and young people being taken out on stretchers.

“It happens far too often in our nation,” Steven told reporters.

Monday’s shooting came nearly two months after the state was rocked by a shooting at Brown University that left two students dead and wounded nine others, as well as a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor. Authorities later found Claudio Neves Valente, 48, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at a New Hampshire storage facility.

“Our state is grieving again,” Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee said in a statement. “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.”

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Casey contributed from Boston and Whittle contributed from Portland, Maine. Associated Press reporter Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed.