PAWTUCKET, RI — A goalie for one of the hockey teams playing at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena says he and his teammates had only seconds to react when gunfire erupted during a game on Monday afternoon.
Olin Lawrence, a sophomore at Coventry-Johnston, was standing in the net when he heard what he first believed were balloons popping, until the sounds kept coming.
“It was like, ‘bop, bop,’ and I thought it was balloons, but it just kept going, and it was actually gunshots,” Lawrence said. “After the gunshots, me and my teammates ran right to the locker room, and we just bunkered up.”
“It was very scary. We were very nervous.”
Police say that three people are dead, including the suspect, in what is believed to be a “family dispute,” Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves said.
[ Deadly shooting during hockey game at Rhode Island arena appeared to be ‘family dispute,’ police say ]
“This seems like it was a targeted event. It may have been a family dispute. But we are still investigating,” Goncalves said. “If anybody has any information out there...any recordings...Obviously, reach out.”
Several players and their families ran to a nearby convenience store, begging the owner to lock the doors behind them, as he peered out the glass. Lawrence added that the feeling of being in a situation like that was unfamiliar.
“You don’t know what it feels like until you’re actually in it,” he said. “It’s very scary.”
Parents, athletes, and families who’d been waiting out in the cold in the aftermath of the shooting were ushered by police into buses, comforted to be reunited with loved ones, and relieved.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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