Gunfire erupted during a Rhode Island youth hockey game, leaving multiple victims and a stunned community. Authorities have now identified those killed and say the attack was a targeted family dispute.The crowd came to watch a high school hockey game. Instead, they witnessed something no one in the stands will ever forget.At first, authorities characterized the shooting as a family dispute. But behind that understated description was a decades-long marriage marked by strain, fractured relationships, and a confrontation that erupted in front of children, parents, and dozens of witnesses.
On Monday afternoon, February 16, 2026, shots rang out during a high school hockey game at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, just miles outside Providence. Investigators interviewed nearly 100 witnesses as they worked to piece together what happened inside the packed stands.Police initially described the violence as a “family dispute,” a phrase that barely hinted at the heartbreak underneath.

People embrace and walk away as police stand outside the perimeter they created around the Dennis M. People embrace and walk away as police stand outside the perimeter they created around the Dennis M. Authorities confirmed the suspected gunman, 56-year-old Robert Dorgan, who also went by the name Roberta Esposito, opened fire before dying from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to a report from CNN.Three people were critically injured, including two elderly family members and a close family friend. But it would take several days for the most painful details to emerge.Then came the confirmation that turned an already shocking story into a devastating one. Pawtucket Chief of Police Tina Goncalves announced the identities of the deceased on Tuesday, February 17, 2026.The Chief of Police said that the two people killed were the shooter’s ex-wife, Rhonda Dorgan, and their adult son, Aidan Dorgan, according to CNN.