The person who killed two people at a youth hockey game in Rhode Island appeared to post ominous warnings in the days before the deadly shooting.
An online profile that appears to belong to Robert Dorgan, 56, who police said also went by the name ‘Roberta Esposito,’ shared an eerie video of a woman running on a treadmill while loading ammunition magazines into a handgun and aiming.
In another post on X, a profile for ‘Roberta Dorgano’ threatened to go ‘BERSERK’ while defending transgender Congresswoman Sarah McBride.
‘Keep bashing us,’ Dorgano wrote on Sunday. ‘But do not wonder why we Go BESERK.’
Just hours after the shooting, a woman who claimed to be Dorgano’s daughter claimed the gunman ‘has mental health issues.’
‘He shot my family, and he’s dead now,’ the woman told WCVB.
At a news conference Monday night, Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves said Dorgan entered the Dennis M Lynch Arena to watch a high school hockey match, which a ‘relative’ had been playing in. He then opened fire at around 2.30pm.
At least two people were killed, including a family member and a family friend, before Dorgan turned the gun on himself, Goncalves said.
Three others were also left in critical condition at a local hospital following the shooting, which authorities said stemmed from a ‘family dispute.’
Robert Dorgan, 56, who also went by the name ‘Roberta Esposito,’ has been identified as the gunman who opened fire on family members at a high school hockey match on Monday
A profile for ‘Roberta Dorgano’ warned people on February 15 to ‘not wonder why we Go BESERK’ after an X user misgendered Congresswoman Sarah McBride
A motive for the shooting remained unclear Tuesday morning, but court documents obtained by WPRI show Dorgan had sparred with family members over his gender identity.
The documents showed he even told police in early 2020 that he had recently undergone gender reassignment surgery – and said his father-in-law wanted him kicked out of their home because of it.
Dorgan claimed to officers with the North Providence Police Department that his father-in-law threatened to ‘have him murdered by an Asian street gang if he did not move out of the residence,’ according to court documents.
The gunman, who told police he had been living at the home for seven years, also claimed his father-in-law told him ‘there’s no goddam [sic] way a tranny is going to stay in my house,’ the documents read.
The father-in-law was then charged with intimidation of witnesses and victims of crimes, and obstruction of the judicial system, but prosecutors later dismissed the charges.
Other court records show Dorgan had also accused his mother of assaulting him and acting in a ‘violent, threatening or tumultuous manner,’ leading his mother to be charged with simple assault and battery and disorderly conduct.
The case apparently caused further contention between Dorgan and his father-in-law, with Dorgan telling police his father-in-law ‘told me that if I did not drop the assault charges against my mother, that further retaliation could be expected, and that was another reason to have me killed.’
The case against Dorgan’s mother was also eventually dismissed.
But Dorgan’s gender identity was even cited in his ex-wife, Rhonda’s, petition for a divorce in 2020.
After about a dozen shots were fired, the hockey players were seen racing to the back of the Dennis M Lynch Arena
Hockey players were seen ducking down on the sidelines after the gunman opened fire at a high school game in Pawtucket, Rhode Island on Monday
Under the section for ‘grounds for divorce,’ Rhonda initially wrote ‘gender reassignment surgery, narcissistic + personality disorder traits.’
However, those reasons were later crossed out and replaced with ‘irreconcilable differences, which have caused the immediate breakdown of the marriage,’ WPRI reports.
Their divorce was finalized in June 2021, and Rhonda is now believed to be one of the victims of Monday’s shooting along with a family friend.
A source with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives told Fox News that the gunman shot and killed his wife and opened fire on his children before turning the gun on himself.
Footage from the scene appeared to show a man in a white beanie walking down the stands and opening fire into the crowd.
The sound of gunshots soon led others in the stands to turn their heads and flee the scene as the gunman kept firing.
A good Samaritan then stepped in and tried to subdue Dorgan, Chief Goncalves said, crediting his actions with preventing any further bloodshed.
Meanwhile, livestream footage from the game also showed players starting to duck down on the sidelines after about six shots rang out at the rink.
Other players who were on the ice scrambled to reach the sidelines and get to safety.
After a total of about a dozen shots were fired as spectators could be heard screaming and crying.
Coventry player Olin Lawrence described how he and his teammates barricaded themselves in the locker room following the shooting
Authorities arrived on the scene of the shooting within a minute and a half of receiving a report
Goncalves said Monday night that authorities arrived on the scene within a minute and a half of receiving a report of the shooting.
Officers have now spoken to more than 100 witnesses as the investigation continues, and are asking anyone with any additional footage from the hockey match to come forward.
‘We’re looking at all avenues,’ the police chief said, adding: ‘It’s going to be a very busy 24 to 48 hours.’
The FBI is also assisting with the investigation.
The ‘Senior Night’ tournament between a co-op team made up of Coventry and Johnston hockey players and another co-op team from St. Raphael, PCD, North Providence, and North Smithfield schools began at 2pm, and shots were fired just about half an hour later.
‘What should have been a joyful occasion, with dozens of families, students and supporters gathered to celebrate Senior Night… was instead marked by violence and fear,’ Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien said.
‘Our prayers go out to the victims, their families and everyone impacted by this devastating incident.
‘Pawtucket is a strong and resilient community, but tonight we are a city in mourning,’ he continued. ‘We will stand together in support of those affected in the difficult days ahead and we will keep the public updated as confirmed facts become available.’
Fortunately, none of the hockey players on the ice were harmed in the shooting.
But it still set off a chaotic scene on the ice, Coventry player Olin Lawrence said.
A large yellow school bus was also seen parked outside the arena, along with multiple police officers who roped off the crime scene
Spectators were seen embracing and walking away as police stood outside the perimeter they created around the Dennis M Lynch Arena Monday night
Family members were seen returning to their cars following the fatal shooting
‘I was on the ice and I thought it was balloons at first – it was like “bop, bop,” and I thought it was balloons, but this kept going – and it was actually gunshots,’ he recounted.
‘And after the gunshots, me and my teammates ran right to the locker room and we just bunkered up and we pressed against the door and we tried to stay safe down there.
‘But it was very scary, we were very nervous.’
It was not a school day due to President’s Day, a federal holiday.
Tragic photos of the scene showed parents holding on tightly to their children as they evacuated to the parking lot on Monday afternoon.
Footage also showed parents with their hands on their heads and children – some still wearing their hockey uniforms – crying.
A large yellow school bus was also seen parked outside the arena, along with multiple police officers who roped off the crime scene.
Multiple ambulances were also seen arriving then quickly fleeing to nearby hospitals and one victim was seen being taken out of the arena on a stretcher.
An unidentified woman broke down in tears in the aftermath of the shooting
Others were seen holding each other tight as they tried to process what had happened
Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee said he is now ‘praying for Rhode Island.’
‘Our state is grieving again,’ he said of the tragedy, which comes just months after Cláudio Manuel Neves Valente shot 11 people at Brown University, also in Rhode Island.
‘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.’
The governor then went on to thank first responders and urged anyone who needed support to call 988.
‘Agencies across my administration are working together to provide additional mental health resources to students and families this week,’ McKee said.
If you or someone you know needs help, please call or text the confidential 24/7 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US on 988. There is also an online chat available at 988lifeline.org.