PORTLAND (WGME) — A shooter who killed his son and ex-wife lived and worked in Maine.
The shooting Monday happened during a youth hockey game in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, leaving three people dead, including the shooter.
The shooting Monday happened during a youth hockey game in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, leaving three people dead, including the shooter. (WJAR)
Police identified the suspect as 56-year-old Robert Dorgan, who also went by the name Roberta Esposito.
Officials say he shot one of his sons and ex-wife, who both died.
When people stepped in to stop Dorgan, the police chief says he took his own life.
Police say two other family members and a family friend were wounded and remain in critical care.
Officials are now carrying out search warrants and working with the FBI in another state in hopes of gathering additional information.
The shooting Monday happened during a youth hockey game in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, leaving three people dead, including the shooter. (WJAR)
The gunman lived in Maine and worked at Bath Iron Works.
His daughter says her dad had a number of mental health issues and recently showed even more signs of instability.
Pawtucket’s police chief says court documents show Dorgan’s gender identity played a role in multiple family disputes in recent years, which she believes led to the shooting.
Police say Dorgan opened fire on his own family at a hockey game in Pawtucket.
Amanda, one of her father’s six children, was at that game with her two sons to watch her brother Colin play, when her father shot and killed her other brother and stepmom and critically wounded her stepmother’s parents.
“His whole adulthood he’s struggled with mental health issues,” Amanda said. “I think his gender identity issues are a symptom of a deeper issue.”
Amanda says if not for the bystander who subdued her father before he turned the gun on himself, she and her sons may have been shot and killed.
The shooting Monday happened during a youth hockey game in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, leaving three people dead, including the shooter. (WJAR)
She says her father had a long and complex set of mental health issues but refused to seek treatment.
“He was ostracized from the family because he had a long history of violence and abuse,” Amanda said. “But when somebody doesn’t want to get help, they won’t.”
Dorgan worked at BIW the past five years in the electrical department.
In a brief statement, BIW says, “Robert Dorgan was an active employee with Bath Iron Works. We extend our deepest sympathies to the victims, their families and all those affected by this tragedy.”
The shooter was also a regular at West Gate One Stop, right across from BIW.
The owner says his wife is the one who broke the news.
“It hit really close to me for a lot of reasons. My mom owned this store when I was growing up. I grew up around BIW guys. And my daughter is in high school hockey,” West Gate One Stop Owner David Jacobs said. “I think it’s just personal stuff that boiled over. I think it’s isolated to that.”
Amanda says her dad would often come to his son’s hockey games. She believes her father had a license to own and carry a gun.
There is a GoFundMe raising money to support the couple’s two youngest children, who survived this tragedy.
The family says Ava and Colin are terrific, hard-working kids.
Ava is a nursing student, and Colin is the hockey player still in high school.
So far, the GoFundMe has raised more than $100,000.