Robert Dorgan Opens Fire at Pawtucket Ice Rink During High School Hockey Game; Authorities Report Two Dead — Some Outlets Say Three

On Monday, Feb. 16, a mass shooting erupted during high-school hockey games at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

“A shooting at a Rhode Island ice rink where a youth hockey game was scheduled Monday left three dead, including the suspect, and three injured, according to police”

Associated Press

Authorities identified the suspected gunman as Robert Dorgan (also known as Roberta Esposito) and said he died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot.

Associated Press

Live-stream and social-media footage captured players and spectators diving for cover as shots rang out.

Reporting differs on the immediate casualty totals: several outlets describe two people killed and multiple critically wounded, while others say three people died, including the shooter.

Authorities and witnesses described the attack as likely targeted and possibly tied to a family dispute, and some reports say the shooter was at the rink to watch a family member's game.

Outlets that spoke with or quoted investigators framed the incident as potentially domestic in motive, while eyewitness accounts and regional outlets reported that the shooter may have been targeting relatives in the stands.

CBS News

Reports conflict about the victims' ages and whether a child was killed.

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CTV News

The Daily Record and Udaipur Kiran reported a young girl among the dead.

The Associated Press and kstp said the two non-suspect fatalities "appeared to be adults."

OANN reported that initial accounts of a child fatality were corrected and that "the two victims at the scene were adults, while three children connected to the suspect were hospitalized with life-threatening injuries."

Officials, witnesses and coverage describe immediate efforts that helped end the attack and the law-enforcement response.

Multiple outlets report that someone at the arena intervened or that a bystander tried to subdue or disarm the shooter.

Daily Record

Local police, the ATF and the FBI responded.

Roads were sealed, and schools worked to reunite students with families while mental-health resources were offered.

Investigations were underway as officials reviewed video and interviewed witnesses, and authorities said they were withholding victims' names until families could be notified.

“17th February 2026 – (Pawtucket) A family dispute erupted into deadly violence at an ice skating rink in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, on Monday afternoon, leaving two people dead and three others critically wounded before the gunman took his own life”

Dimsum Daily

The Associated Press and local outlets stated investigators believe the attack is unconnected to an earlier deadly shooting at Brown University, and agencies including the ATF and FBI are assisting with scene processing and interviews.

Dimsum Daily