PAWTUCKET, RI — Another of the victims in last week’s deadly shooting at a Rhode Island hockey rink has died, Pawtucket police said Wednesday.
Gerald Dorgan, 75, succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday, nine days after he was shot by his former son-in-law Robert Dorgan at a high school hockey game on Monday, February 16, according to police.
Gerald Dorgan was sitting with his daughter Rhonda Dorgan and grandson, Aidan Dorgan to celebrate his other grandson’s Senior Night Game when Robert opened fire.
Rhonda succumbed to her injuries inside the arena while Aidan died after being rushed to a local hospital, according to Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves.
Gerald’s wife Linda and a family friend were also shot and seriously injured. Pawtucket police say they are still receiving care in the hospital.
Immediately after the shooting, at least three individuals attempted to subdue Robert. However, Robert turned a second gun on himself and died from a self‑inflicted wound.
Goncalves said video from inside the rink shows Robert did not have an altercation with his family before the shooting and also explained that Robert was a frequent visitor at hockey games in the Rhode Island area.
Video cameras from inside the arena show Robert left the game at some point and returned, but it was not known at what point he first had the guns on his person.
The guns Robert used were purchased legally, Goncalves detailed. Robert had a license to carry in Florida and officials are investigating whether he had a license to carry in Rhode Island as well.
Court documents obtained by Boston 25 News revealed, that Robert Dorgan, who also went by Roberta Esposito and Roberta Dorgan, had a long history of family disputes due to his gender identity, court documents show.
The documents show that in 2020, Robert Dorgan went to the North Providence Police and alleged that his then-father-in-law, Gerald, came into his home and threatened “to have an Asian street gang murder him” after he had recently undergone gender reassignment surgery.
Dorgan had pending assault charges against his mother at the time, Joann, whom he was accusing of assaulting him in a “violent, threatening, or tumultuous manner.”
Dorgan also accused his father-in-law of stating that he was going to retaliate if he didn’t have the assault charges against his mother dropped. His father-in-law was charged with intimidation of a witness and obstruction of the judicial system.
Around the same time, Dorgan’s ex-wife Rhonda, filed for divorce in early February, citing the grounds was due to “gender reassignment surgery and narcissistic and personality disorder traits.”
Dorgan’s ex-wife crossed out the grounds for the divorce, later writing in “irreconcilable differences which have caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage.”
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