Police identified the man who killed two people and critically injured three others during a high school hockey game in Rhode Island on Monday afternoon as Robert Dorgan, a transgender father who railed against anti-trans hate for years in bitter family legal battles and deranged social media rants.
Dorgan, 56, who shot four family members and a family friend before killing himself after the deadly attack at a Pawtucket ice rink, also went by the female name Roberta Esposito, Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves said during a news conference Monday night. “We have identified the person, the suspect, by a birth name, the birth name was Robert Dorgan,” Goncalves said.
Changed Gender, Was Abused by Mother
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“We have also learned that the person does go by the name of Roberta, also uses a last name of Esposito,” Goncalves added. Police said he fired at least a dozen rounds into the stands at Dennis M. Lynch Arena on Monday, killing two before taking his own life.
As investigators work to understand what led up to the violence, court records obtained by WPRI suggest that tension surrounding Dorgan’s gender identity had caused conflict within the family.
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In a February 15 reply to a post that referred to openly transgender U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride as a man, Dorgan wrote a disturbing message: “keep bashing us. but do not wonder why we Go BERSERK.”
In other posts on X, he voiced strong support for the Second Amendment and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, while also expressing opposition to abortion.
Authorities later said Dorgan was carrying multiple firearms during the shooting at the ice rink.
Dorgan told police in early 2020 that he had recently undergone gender reassignment surgery and said his father-in-law wanted him removed from the home because of it, court records show.
He also told officers with the North Providence Police Department that his father-in-law threatened to have him killed by an Asian street gang if he refused to move out. Goncalves said Dorgan entered the rink to watch a “Senior Night” hockey game in which his daughter was playing before opening fire at around 2:30 p.m.
Chilling footage from the scene appeared to show a man wearing a white beanie walking through the stands before opening fire into the crowd.
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As the gunshots rang out, people in the stands quickly realized what was happening, turning in panic and rushing to escape while the shooter continued firing. Livestream footage from the game showed players on the bench ducking for cover after about six shots echoed through the arena.
Players who were still on the ice also scrambled toward the sidelines, trying to get out of harm’s way. By the time the gunfire stopped — roughly a dozen shots in total — screams and cries from spectators could be heard throughout the rink.
Afterward, a woman told WCVB that the shooter was her father.
“He shot my family, and he’s dead now,” the unidentified woman said, adding that he “has mental health issues.”
Serious Mental Health Issues
A source with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives told Fox news that the gunman fatally shot his wife, then opened fire on his children before taking his own life. Court records show that Dorgan claimed his father-in-law made a hostile remark to him, saying, “there’s no goddam [sic] way a tranny is going to stay in my house.”
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The father-in-law was later charged with witness intimidation and obstruction of justice, though prosecutors ultimately dropped those charges.
Dorgan had also accused his mother of assault, alleging she behaved in a “violent, threatening or tumultuous manner.” She was charged with simple assault and battery, along with disorderly conduct.
The case against Dorgan’s mother was later dropped as well.
Around the same time Dorgan was making those allegations, his then-wife, Rhonda, filed for divorce, according to court records. She is now believed to be one of the victims of the shooting, WPRI reported.
In the initial divorce paperwork, Rhonda cited “gender reassignment surgery, narcissistic + personality disorder traits” as the reasons for seeking a divorce. Those claims were later crossed out and replaced with “irreconcilable differences, which have caused the immediate breakdown of the marriage.” The divorce was finalized in June 2021.
Goncalves said officers arrived at the arena within about 90 seconds of the shooting. Since then, investigators have interviewed more than 100 witnesses as the probe into the deadly incident continues.
