Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves said during a press briefing on Tuesday that several bystanders attempted to stop the shooting, but Dorgan took out a second firearm and shot himself. Video taken during the game captured the sounds of multiple gunshots, then an 11-second pause as people scrambled for the exits, and then another single shot.
Aidan Dorgan died at the hospital; Rhonda Dorgan succumbed to her injuries at the arena, said Goncalves.
Investigators recovered the two firearms, a Glock 10 millimeter and a SIG Sauer P226 pistol, said Goncalves. Dorgan had a license to carry firearms in Florida, she said.
Goncalves called the shooting a “very targeted” “family dispute” that remained under investigation.
Goncalves said there was not a known confrontation between the suspect and their family. “It doesn’t appear that there was any conversation or confrontation between the family before the incident happened,” said Goncalves.
“There was no indication that there was going to be violence,” said the chief, who explained Robert Dorgan had gone to hockey games before without incident.
Robert Dorgan, who is transgender, also went by the names Roberta Dorgan and Roberta Esposito. The Globe was not able to confirm whether Dorgan’s name was legally changed. Goncalves said investigators have not obtained Dorgan’s medical records, and she could not answer questions regarding mental health struggles or medications.
Court records show that Rhonda Dorgan filed for divorce from Robert Dorgan in February 2020 after 28 years of marriage. The divorce was finalized in June 2021, according to court records.
In the divorce filing, Rhonda Dorgan initially cited “gender reassignment surgery, Narcissistic + personality traits,” but crossed it out and changed the grounds for divorce to “irreconcilable differences which caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage.” The divorce was finalized in June 2021.
Robert Dorgan joined the US Marine Corps in April 1988 and then was prematurely discharged in July 1988, USMC confirmed to the Globe. His discharge “is indicative the character of his service was incongruent with Marine Corps’ expectations and standards,” said Marine spokesman Major Jacoby Getty.
Getty said Dorgan’s last assignment was Parris Island in South Carolina, a U.S. Marine Corps Recruit Depot where many recruits undergo basic training. Getty declined to provide further details.
Court records also show that in January 2016, Heidi J. Wallace, 62, filed a child support case against Robert Dorgan. Reached by phone Tuesday morning, Wallace said she could not speak to the press.
“My family is very, very … We can’t talk about this right now,” said Wallace while sobbing.
Another child support case was filed in May 2016 by Marlyse Dunbar, 57. She did not return the Globe’s calls on Tuesday.
The shooting took place during a 2 p.m. hockey game at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket. The game was between the Coventry/Johnston co-op team and the Blackstone Valley schools co-op hockey program, which includes players from St. Raphael Academy and Providence Country Day, and North Providence and North Smithfield public schools.
Robert Dorgan’s son, a star North Providence High School athlete, was playing for the Blackstone Valley co-op during the senior night celebration game. Asked how her brother was holding up, Ava Dorgan said, “He’s OK.”
On Tuesday morning, several cars were parked outside at the family’s home, about four miles north of downtown Providence, as news crews roamed the neighborhood. Family members and a hockey coach from the Blackstone Valley co-op team were gathered there.
A next-door neighbor, Ellie Espinal, said she did not know the family well, but recalled seeing teens playing hockey in the driveway during the summer. “I couldn’t believe it,” Espinal said of the shooting. “I just couldn’t believe it.”
Town records show Robert Dorgan previously lived at the North Providence home. His voter registration there was cancelled in 2022. It was not immediately clear where he was living at the time of the shooting. The Maine State Police is also assisting investigators, said spokeswoman Shannon Moss, but declined to provide further information.
Ava Dorgan said her father worked on boats and had not done anything violent in the past. She did not know her father had guns, she said. Asked if she and her siblings were close to their father, she said, “We were not in the last few years.”
“I don’t really want much business out there. I just want them to know that it was my mom and my brother and my dad,” said Ava Dorgan. “That’s all.”
This article has been updated with additional information. Carlos Muñoz of the Globe Staff contributed to this report.
Steph Machado can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @StephMachado. Christopher Gavin can be reached at [email protected]. Alexa Gagosz can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz. Amanda Milkovits can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @AmandaMilkovits.
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