HORROR at Hockey Rink: Family Execution LIVESTREAMED

A biological male identifying as female executed a calculated family murder at a Rhode Island youth hockey game, yet mainstream media rushed to bury critical details about the shooter’s identity and mental health struggles that might challenge progressive narratives.

Story Snapshot

Robert K. Dorgan (aka Roberta Esposito) killed his wife and daughter at a Pawtucket hockey rink on February 16, 2026, injuring three other family members before committing suicide.
The 56-year-old shooter’s mental health issues were known to family members, yet he accessed multiple weapons to target relatives during a livestreamed high school game.
Despite viral social media claims, no verified Twitter posts from the shooter have emerged, exposing how misinformation spreads during tragedies.
This marked Rhode Island’s second mass shooting in two months, raising concerns about family violence prevention and mental health intervention failures.

Family Targeted During Youth Hockey Game

Robert K. Dorgan opened fire at Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket around 2:30 p.m. during a boys’ hockey game between the Coventry/Johnston co-op and Blackstone Valley co-op teams. The shooter fired approximately eleven shots specifically targeting family members—his wife and three children—while dozens of spectators and young athletes watched in horror. His daughter died at the scene, while his wife succumbed to injuries at the hospital. Three other family members remained in critical condition as investigators worked to piece together the domestic dispute that escalated into public carnage.

Chaos Captured on Livestream

The attack unfolded during a livestreamed high school hockey game, capturing the panic as players and spectators initially mistook gunshots for skates hitting ice or balloons popping. Witnesses described chaos as people fled or barricaded themselves in locker rooms while the violence continued. A bystander heroically attempted to disarm Dorgan, but the shooter produced a second weapon before ultimately taking his own life. Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves confirmed the targeted nature of the attack, classifying it as a familicide stemming from a family dispute rather than random violence.

Mental Health and Identity Questions Emerge

Critical details about the shooter complicate the narrative that many in the media prefer to avoid. Dorgan, a biological male who identified as female under the name Roberta Esposito, had documented mental health issues according to his daughter. This intersection of gender identity and mental instability raises uncomfortable questions about how society addresses psychological struggles within the broader cultural push to affirm all gender identities without adequate mental health screening. The incident occurred just two months after a Brown University mass shooting that killed two students and injured nine, suggesting Rhode Island faces systemic failures in preventing violence from individuals with known psychological distress.

Social Media Misinformation Spreads Rapidly

Despite viral claims that Dorgan posted concerning material on Twitter before the attack, no credible evidence supports these assertions. Multiple sources including AP reports, police statements, and Wikipedia entries make no mention of any social media activity by the shooter. The false narrative spread rapidly through conservative social media channels, with users sharing unverified claims about pre-attack posts. This demonstrates how misinformation thrives in the immediate aftermath of tragedies, when emotions run high and facts remain scarce. Responsible citizens must demand verification before amplifying claims, even when those claims might support broader concerns about identifying warning signs.

Government Response and Community Impact

Governor Dan McKee and Senator Jack Reed issued standard statements calling the shooting a “horrific tragedy” while praising first responders, but offered no substantive policy proposals to address domestic violence or mental health intervention gaps. The arena was secured, hospital lockdowns lifted, and mental health resources deployed to traumatized witnesses—standard reactive measures that do nothing to prevent the next family massacre. Schools confirmed all players were safe and buses evacuated families, but the psychological damage to children who witnessed a father execute his family during what should have been innocent athletic competition cannot be measured. The tight-knit Rhode Island hockey community now grapples with trauma that limited government and therapeutic interventions will never fully heal.