Rhode Island hockey rink shooting: What we know

Police update after deadly shooting in Rhode Island

We are getting an update from police on the scene after a shooting in Rhode Island leaves three dead, including the suspect. Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee and the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives in Boston posted on social media about the shooting, but provided minimal details at the time. Footage from the near the incident appears to show multiple emergency vehicles outside the scene, including police and ambulances. Local law enforcement or other state officials are actively giving updates on the shooting, with information about the shooter not yet known. 

Authorities in Rhode Island are expected Tuesday to release more information after three people died and three others were hurt in a shooting on Monday at an ice hockey rink. 

What we know:

The shooting happened during a high school hockey game at the Dennis M. Lynch arena in Pawtucket just before 2:30 p.m. 

Police stand outside the perimeter they created around the Dennis M. Lynch Arena where a shooting occurred earlier today in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, on February 16, 2026. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso / AFP via Getty Images)

The Pawtucket Police Chief, Tina Goncalves, said Monday that the shooting appeared to be a targeted event and that it may have been a "family dispute." She did not release further details and couldn’t confirm the relationship of those involved. 

Two people were killed, three others are hospitalized with injuries, and the shooter is dead of a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound, Goncalves said. 

Goncalves identified the shooter as Robert Dorgan, who she said also went by the name Roberta Esposito and was born in 1969.

The police chief did not provide further details about the shooter or the victims, except for saying it appeared that both victims who died were adults.

Authorities are also reviewing video taken from the hockey game. Unverified footage circulating on social media shows players diving for cover and fans fleeing their seats after popping sounds are heard, according to the Associated Press. 

What we don't know:

Law enforcement officials haven’t yet given the names of those who were killed or injured. Details of the suspected family dispute were also not yet released. 

What's next:

Goncalves said they’d be releasing more information Tuesday after speaking with witnesses and the family members of those who were involved. 

Pawtucket is north of Providence and near the Massachusetts state border. A city of just under 80,000, Pawtucket had up until recently been known as the home to Hasbro’s headquarters.