A shooter unleashed a flurry of bullets during a Rhode Island youth hockey game, killing two people and injuring three others, in an attack that was cut short when a spectator stepped in to help stop the tragedy, authorities said.

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.

Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves said Monday that the shooter died from an apparent self-inflicted gun wound, though authorities are still investigating.

Goncalves credited an unnamed “good Samaritan” who intervened, bringing the attack “to a swift end.” She did not provide details.

It is not entirely clear what precipitated the shooting, who was targeted or why.

The 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.

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Video captures chaos inside Rhode Island ice rink during shooting that killed 2

LiveBarn’s social media account has been issuing warnings to those who shared the video that they do not have permission to do so. An email to LiveBarn seeking comment was sent Tuesday.

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“It appears that this was a targeted event, that it may be a family dispute,” Goncalves said. Authorities said both people who died were adults but have not released the identities of the victims.

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

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

Monday’s shooting came nearly two months after Rhode Island 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.”

Associated Press writer Patrick Whittle contributed to this report from Portland, Maine.

&copy 2026 The Canadian Press

By EMMA RICHTER, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER

Published: 15:00 EST, 16 February 2026 | Updated: 16:22 EST, 16 February 2026

A young girl has tragically died and four other people were rushed to the hospital after a gunman opened fire at a high school hockey tournament in Rhode Island. 

Chaos unfolded on Monday afternoon at Dennis M Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, about 10 minutes outside of Providence.  

The unidentified male shooter opened fire during one of the hockey games. A young girl died in the shooting. The conditions of those taken to the hospital remain unclear.

Hockey players on the ice were not harmed as the shooting occurred in the stands near spectators.  

Police said that the gunman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after raining bullets in the arena. Police are not looking for any other suspects at this time. 

It was not a school day, and the tournament was played between two interscholastic teams. 

The hockey game was between a co-op team made up of Coventry and Johnston kids, playing against another co-op team from St. Raphael, PCD, North Providence, and North Smithfield schools. The tournament started at 2pm.

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.

The scene outside of Dennis M Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, after a gunman opened fire during a high school hockey tournament on Monday afternoon. At least one person, a young girl, has died in the gunfire, and four others are in hospital 

Photos of the scene showed parents holding on tightly to their children as they evacuated to the parking lot

Police are seen at the scene of the shooting, where one young girl died

Officials said that the investigation is still active, but the shooter is dead 

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. 

One victim was seen being taken out of the arena on a stretcher.  

After shots rang out at the indoor hockey rink, terrified children ran into a nearby Walgreens pharmacy, screaming, an employee told WPRI.

The shooting comes just two months after another gunman opened fire at Brown University, also located in Rhode Island. 

The shooter, Cláudio Manuel Neves Valente, shot 11 people. Two students, Ella Cook and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, died. Nine others were injured. 

They were in a study session held at the Ivy League’s School of Engineering Barus and Holley Building when a gunman burst in and opened fire. 

Valente fired 40 rounds – causing terror among the college students.  

During the ordeal in December, the entire Rhode Island community was thrown into turmoil for days as police and the FBI tried to locate the suspect. 

Shots reportedly rang out from the stands in the stadium on Monday afternoon

Brown canceled all remaining classes, exams, papers and projects for the semester at the time – and told students they could leave campus, underscoring the scale of the disruption and the gravity of the attack. 

Rhode Island is the smallest US state by land area, covering just 1,214 square miles with 1.11 million residents. 

The Daily Mail contacted the Pawtucket Police Department for comment.  

This is a breaking news story.