The two victims killed in Monday’s mass shooting during a high school hockey game in Rhode Island have been identified as Rhonda Dorgan and her son, Aidan Dorgan.
Rhonda, 52, and Aidan, 23, were at the game watching the family’s youngest son play when shots rang out. The younger brother was reportedly on the ice at the time of the shooting, and players scattered off the ice as gunfire erupted midgame, according to WCVB.
Three other people were injured and remained hospitalized in critical condition as of Wednesday morning, according to local authorities. Those victims include Rhonda’s parents, Linda and Gerald Dorgan, and a family friend, Tom Geruso, according to The Providence Journal.
The shooter died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
At a press conference late Monday night, Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves said the suspect opened fire inside the Dennis M. Lynch Arena at about 2:30 p.m. during a high school hockey game involving the suspect’s son.
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Goncalves said investigators believe the suspect acted alone and identified the shooter as Robert Dorgan, who also used the name Roberta Esposito.
According to reporting by The Providence Journal, Robert Dorgan and Rhonda Dorgan married in 1992 and divorced in 2020, citing irreconcilable differences. The outlet also reported that the suspect had been living in Maine and working as an electrician at a shipyard.
Authorities have not identified a motive and said the investigation is expected to be ongoing and extensive.
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In the days since the shooting, the Dorgan family’s surviving members and the local community have continued to mourn.
Merrimack College said Wednesday that its community was grieving Aidan, a mechanical engineering student, and extended condolences to his family and loved ones.
An attorney for the Dorgan family, Lawrence J. Signore, said the surviving family members have been deeply affected by the shooting and are cooperating with authorities. He added that the family’s focus remains on those who were injured and on the people whose lives have been permanently changed by the tragedy.
