Father who shot five at Rhode Island ice rink was transgender, authorities say

One person was killed and four others were hospitalized in a shooting at an ice skating rink in Pawtucket, Rhode Island

Published: February 16, 2026 3:46pm

Updated: February 16, 2026 11:45pm

Police have identified the suspect in a Rhode Island ice rink shooting as 56-year-old man who identified as transgender.

“He shot my family and he’s dead now,” a woman who identified herself as the shooter's daughter, told reporters as she was exiting the Pawtucket Police Department after the shooting.

“He has mental health issues,” she said, adding that he was “very sick.”

Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves confirmed Monday evening that Robert Dorgan, who goes by the name Roberta Esposito, killed himself after a targeted shooting stemming from a family dispute. 

Court records from 2020 state that Dorgan had undergone gender reassignment surgery. His wife filed for divorce, initially citing “gender reassignment surgery, narcissistic + personality disorder traits” as the reason before crossing them out and writing “irreconcilable differences.”

Dorgan shot four family members and a family friend at a high school hockey game Monday, killing two and injuring three, police said, according to WPRI.

The student’s mother was killed at the rink, while a sibling died at the hospital, according to sources with direct knowledge of the incident.

Three other family members are in critical condition at Rhode Island Hospital as of late Monday afternoon, according to the outlet. No names have been released. 

 

Two people were killed and three others are hospitalized in a shooting at an ice skating rink in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, where two schools were playing ice hockey, according to WPRI in Pawtucket. One of the victims died in the hospital.

The suspect is also dead.

An employee at a nearby Walgreens told the news outlet that people came streaming into the store following the shooting to report the incident. Those people then hid in the store while an employee called 911. 

This is a breaking story. 

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