It was supposed to be Senior Night. Instead, a Rhode Island ice rink became the scene of a family massacre.
A father opened fire on his own relatives during his child's high school hockey game in Pawtucket on Monday, killing two and critically wounding three others before taking his own life, according to authorities and sources with direct knowledge of the incident.
The attack at Dennis M. Lynch Arena has rocked a state still reeling from theBrown University shootingjust two months ago.
Authorities haven't released the gunman's name. But here's what we know.
The shooter was the father of a North Providence High School senior who played on the Blackstone Valley Schools cooperative hockey team, WPRI's Target 12 confirmed. He killed the student's mother at the rink. A sibling, reportedly a young girl, died later at Rhode Island Hospital. Three other family members remain in critical condition.
Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves said the shooter died from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police weren't involved in his death.
A law enforcement source told NBC 10 that investigators are looking into reports the suspect may have been dressed in women's clothing, possibly to enter undetected. That detail is still under investigation.
An ATF source told reporters that the shooting stemmed from a domestic violence incident that turned into a murder-suicide. The gunman killed his wife and shot multiple children before turning the gun on himself.
The Senior Night game was being livestreamed. Families watching from home saw it happen in real time.
Video footageshows play on the ice interrupted by rapid gunfire. At least 14 shots ring out consecutively. Then an 11-second pause. Then what sounds like a final shot.
Source: International Business Times UK
