Governor announces online mental health hub with resources for domestic violence and suicide prevention
This story was originally published in Rhode Island Current, a publication partner of Ocean State Stories.
PAWTUCKET — With a large contingent of state and local elected officials standing by, Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves Tuesday released the names of the mother and son killed in the shooting at an ice rink in the city Monday afternoon.
Rhonda Dorgan 52, and Aidan Dorgan, 23, were the ex-wife and son of the shooter who opened fire at a high school hockey game, Goncalves said at a press conference at the temporary City Council chambers.
Three other people remain in the hospital: Rhonda’s parents, Linda Dorgan and Gerald Dorgan, and Thomas Geruso, a family friend. All were listed in critical condition at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence at the time of Tuesday’s 4:30 p.m. press conference.
Rhonda died from gunshot injuries at the scene at the Dennis M. Lynch arena, and Aidan later died at Rhode Island Hospital.
“We ask that you respect some of the family members, and again, this was one large family that was affected,” Goncalves said of the “unfathomable” incident.
Gov. Dan McKee made brief remarks after Goncalves, his speech heavy and slow as he recounted the toll of the second gun violence tragedy to occur in the tiniest state in the span of 65 days. The Pawtucket shooting came a little more than two months after the state was rocked by a shooting at Brown University that left two students dead and wounded nine others.
“It’s another sad day in Rhode Island, here in Pawtucket,” McKee said, the beeps and shutter clicks of cameras filling the places where he paused his speech. Dozens of reporters and camera operators from Rhode Island and the region were present.
“Just imagine,” McKee said. “We all have families. To have virtually a complete family shot, and several killed. I just can’t imagine what those families are going through and the people who are close to them.”
A GoFundMe attributed to Amanda Wallace-Hubbard, who identified herself as the stepdaughter of Rhonda Dorgan had raised over $140,000 goal as of 6 p.m. Tuesday for Rhonda’s surviving two children.
Aidan Dorgan’s LinkedIn page says he worked for Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut, and had recently graduated from Merrimack College.
A college hockey recruiting profile contains a self-statement filled out by Aidan sometime around the time he graduated North Providence High School in 2021.
“Although it may not be true I feel as though coaches won’t give me a chance because they see I play for a low division high school team that barely has enough players to stay afloat,” Aidan wrote, noting that many of his former teammates from clubs like the Providence Capitals had gone to play for D1 schools, while he felt “stuck at a D3 co-op where I feel like my playing style doesn’t fit with the other players on my team.”
“I don’t mean to give a sob story,” Aidan wrote. “I’m just asking for a chance to prove that I would be a great fit for a college hockey team.”
He was in the stands Monday with his mom to watch his brother play on a co-op team.
‘Not alone’
McKee said his administration is launching a statewide virtual “support hub” for people affected by the shooting. The online hub includes resources to set up meetings with crisis counselors via a partnership with the Family Service of Rhode Island, school-based supports from the Rhode Island Department of Education, and other resources for suicide and domestic violence prevention.
“Rhode Island is such a small state that the impact of this violence is being felt by all of us,” state education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green said during her turn at the podium, reassuring families and students that the state will do what it can in the wake of another illegible and highly public act of violence.
“We are here. We’re here to support you. You’re not alone,” Infante-Green said. “Just because schools are closed this week, we are working. All of government is working to support you.”
U.S. Reps. Gabe Amo and Seth Magazine attended the press briefing. Also present were Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos, Rhode Island Treasurer James Diossa, North Providence Mayor Charles Lombardi, and East Providence Mayor Bob DaSilva. State Reps. Karen Alzate and Jennifer Stewart, Democrats who represent parts of Pawtucket, were present, as was Sen. Lori Urso, a Pawtucket Democrat.
Pawtucket police posted to its Facebook page Tuesday that the city’s visitor center at 175 Main Street will be open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. starting Wednesday and will be offering additional support services.
Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien described the shooting as a “stark reminder” of the devastating consequences of domestic violence and gun violence.
“Events like this can be deeply triggering, particularly for the survivors and the families impacted by violence” he said. “If you are struggling, please seek the help and support you need.”
Not all Rhode Island officials wanted to reduce the tragedy to the weapons involved. House Minority Leader Mike Chippendale, a Foster Republican, said in a statement Tuesday morning that when leaders describe the tragedy as “caused by gun violence,” they are reducing a complex human failure to a single talking point.
“The firearm was the means, not the cause,” Chippendale said. “Violence of this nature almost always involves deeper factors — severe or untreated mental health struggles, instability, isolation, and warning signs that were missed or ignored. If we are serious about prevention, those realities must be part of the conversation.”
Shooter obtained guns legally
Goncalves had identified the shooter Monday night as 56-year-old Robert Dorgan, who is the ex-husband of Rhonda and parent of Aidan. The chief said the shooter also went by the names Roberta Esposito and Roberta Dorgan.
Goncalves said there was no evidence yet that Dorgan confronted family members before the shooting. The perpetrator appeared to leave the arena during the game at one point and later re-entered. The police chief said two firearms were recovered from the shooting, a Glock 10mm pistol and a SIG Sauer P226, a common service pistol well known for its association with the U.S. Navy Seals.
Both guns were obtained legally, police said. Still, Goncalves said the department is working with the FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) for additional details as well as out-of-state search warrants.
Goncalves said that at least three bystanders intervened and were able to subdue the suspect, who then reached for the second gun and turned it on himself.
“We will be the ones that are pushing out the facts to you,” she said. “So if you have questions again, we ask that you reach out to us specifically and not to rely on social media posts. Those posts that people are putting out there are not necessarily accurate, and they’re trying to spin a story in a different way.”
Goncalves did not specify which posts she was referring to, but attention on the case has been magnified because of the information about the perpetrator reported via traditional and social media.
Dorgan was employed at Bath Iron Works, a Maine shipyard that builds U.S. Navy ships, and where U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stopped after visiting Quonset Point on a national tour last week promoting infrastructure investments by the Trump administration.
Court records show Rhonda Dorgan filed for a nominal, or non-contested, divorce on Feb. 17, 2020, almost exactly six years before the date of her death. Rhonda Dorgan cited irreconcilable differences, although at first she had written “gender reassignment surgery, narcissistic + personality disorder traits” as the grounds for the split. The phrase is crossed out in pen.
The Providence Journal reported that Robert and Rhonda shared a last name because they are first cousins, once removed.
‘Together we stand. Together we heal.’ reads a projection inside the Pawtucket Municipal Annex on Feb. 17, 2026. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)
An X account which appears to have belonged to the shooter bears the display name “Roberta Dorgano” and the handle @tgirlcuda, “t-girl” being a slang term for a transgender woman. The account was made in July 2015 and has over 33,000 posts, with many of the most recent being retweeted material related to the Epstein files, U.S. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, right-wing media figures Nick Fuentes and Alex Jones, and an assortment of other conservative figureheads and talking points.
The account appeared to endorse a variety of viewpoints, some of them seemingly incompatible. The account replied affirmatively to tweets containing racist and antisemitic sentiments. It denounced communism, and reposted messages supportive of ICE but was also more critical of other measures in President Donald Trump’s administration, like U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s handling of the Epstein files.
In one reply, the account described themselves as “post op trans , to The Right of Hitler…”
On Sunday, Robert Dorgan’s account replied to a tweet by Massie in which the congressman mentioned his wife Rhonda, who died in 2024.
“I have a beloved RHONDA too , my friend,” the Dorgan account replied.
Earlier that same day, the account replied to an Alex Jones tweet, “stfu Alex…dont be so butt hurtt over somebody different. then wonder why trans ppl go fkn BERSERK.”
“There was no indication that there was going to be violence,” Goncalves said at the press conference. “This individual had gone to many hockey games in the past, there was no past experiences with violence at any of those hockey games so there was no need for police presence at that time.”
When asked about the “berserk” post, Goncalves said, “There were 10s of 1000s of postings, so it is going to take us hours to comb through those postings and see if there’s any… insight into the incident that happened yesterday. At first glance we don’t see that.”
Goncalves said that Robert Dorgan’s gender identity was “irrelevant to our investigation at this point.”
“What I can tell you is the identification was in the name of Robert and then we also know that the suspect went by the name Roberta,” she said. “It appeared that the suspect was in female clothes yesterday, but again, that’s nothing that had swayed the investigation, one way or another.”
The police chief urged the public to respect the family “that has suffered such a great tragedy.”
Video of the shooting recorded from a routine livestream of the hockey game has been circulating on social media and via media outlets, including some broadcast news. Goncalves castigated the sharing of such material.
“I ask that you respect the families that have to relive this every time somebody reposts that,” Goncalves said. “These families are being re-traumatized. So I ask that you not do that…The reason for the live stream was that families could actually enjoy their kids playing hockey.”
