Witnesses describe confusion, fear in deadly hockey rink shooting
By Riley Rourke, Juli McDonald
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PAWTUCKET, Rhode Island (WBZ) — Two people were killed and three were critically wounded in a shooting at a high school hockey game in Pawtucket, Rhode Island Monday afternoon.
Witnesses described the fear and confusion when shots rang out during a co-op boys hockey game at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena around 2:30 p.m. Two adults were killed and three victims are in critical condition at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence. Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves said the shooter, identified as Robert Dorgan, died from a “self-inflicted” gunshot wound. She said the shooting stemmed from a family dispute.
The shooting happened on what was senior day for the players.
“It was supposed to be a special day for the team, and it’s really sad,” said Melissa Dunn, whose son plays on one of the teams.
People inside the arena said they didn’t realize they were hearing gunshots at first.
“You just hear the loud noises. And we’re used to the kids banging on the board with their skates, so we thought it was that at first,” Dunn said.
“I thought it was balloons at first. It was loud. It kept going on, so I ran right into the locker room right after I got off the ice,” said Olin Lawrence, a sophomore goalie from Coventry High School.
Lawrence and the other players barricaded themselves in the locker room while people in the stands ran out of the arena
“We were just trying to be safe. We were trying to see if everyone was all good and if everyone was safe. Just to get everyone on the door,” he explained. “We pressed against the door and just tried to stay safe down in there. It was very scary. We were very nervous. It was a lot of shots.”
But once Dunn left the arena, her first thought was of her son’s safety.
“I tried to get back in the rink, and I actually got back in there to find out where he was, and I saw them doing CPR in the stands and it was just really disturbing,” she told reporters outside of the Pawtucket Police Station. Dunn and her son were both okay. He said that he feels pretty shaken up about the incident, but was not injured.
People said that they never expected this to happen at their neighborhood ice rink.
“You don’t know what it feels like until you’re actually in it. It’s very scary,” Lawrence said.
“Really a lot of the parents shaken up. Some I could hear crying that the shooter was sitting behind them, next to them, not knowing what was about to happen,” one woman said.
Kevin Hernandez, a photographer who lives down the street from the arena, said he frequently takes photos of the sports being played there. He was not at the arena at the time, but was there yesterday to photograph a basketball game.
“It’s unbelievable. It’s devastating. I think only about two months ago we had a similar event in Brown. This hits even closer to home. That event was maybe 15 minutes. This was now five. It’s really scary to know that I was in a setting like this just yesterday. I can’t believe it,” Hernandez said.
Pawtucket, Rhode Island is about 5 miles from Providence and 45 miles south of Boston.
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