A Rhode Island community is reeling after 56-year-old Robert Dorgan allegedly warned he would 'go berserk' in an online tirade just hours before opening fire at his son's hockey game. Dorgan, a self-identified transgender individual who also went by Roberta Esposito, posted a series ofincendiary messages focused on gender identity and perceived discriminationshortly before the shooting unfolded on 16 February 2026. Investigators say the posts, preserved in law enforcement records, reveal intent, grievance and escalating instability.
The violence has renewed urgent questions about online radicalisation, grievance-fuelled extremism and whether warning signs were missed before Dorgan killed his ex-wife and one of his sons at Dennis M Lynch Arena in Pawtucket before taking his own life.
Dorgan published a lengthy online statement in which he declared he would 'go berserk' and referenced taking action against those he believed had wronged him, according to investigative records. Law enforcement officials recovered the posts from a public social media account tied to Dorgan's verified email address and IP data. Screenshots show rhetoric centred on transgender rights, allegations of harassment within amateur hockey circles and hostility towards specific individuals.
The posts were timestamped less than 12 hours before emergency calls reported gunfire at the ice rink. Police records indicate that officers were dispatched at approximately 14:30 local time on 16 February 2026, following multiple emergency calls reporting shots fired during a youth hockey match. Two victims, identified as Dorgan's ex-wife and one of his adult sons, were pronounced dead at the scene. Three additional individuals sustained critical injuries and remain hospitalised in critical condition.
Authorities state that Dorgan used a legally purchased semi-automatic handgun registered in his name. Ballistics evidence matched shell casings recovered at the scene to the firearm found near his body. Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves confirmed the incident was a targeted family attack, with Dorgan dying from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
keep bashing us. but do not wonder why we Go BERSERK
Publicly available league records show that Dorgan participated in aregional amateur hockey associationthat permits transgender athletes to compete in accordance with stated inclusion policies. Archived rosters and social media photographs confirm his involvement in matches as recently as January 2026. One of his children, a North Providence High School senior, was playing on the ice at the time of the shooting.
In a YouTube interview posted on 12 January 2026, Dorgan discussed challenges faced by transgender athletes. In that recorded segment, he said, 'I've felt targeted, and I've felt pushed out of spaces I love'. He added that online harassment had intensified in recent months and referenced 'taking matters into my own hands' if what he described as 'systemic bullying' did not stop. Investigators now view that comment, alongside the later online tirade, as demonstrating a trajectory of escalating rhetoric.
Digital forensic analysts working with federal agents reportedly secured a warrant to search Dorgan's electronic devices. Preliminary examination uncovered draft messages and search history entries relating to firearm use and tactical planning in the days preceding the attack.
It was literally Senior Night at a highschool hockey game-That's when Robert Dorgan decided to kill his wife, his child, himself and attempted to kill his other child who is in the hospital.What a selfish act of domestic violence.Below is the video, along with one of his…pic.twitter.com/3wNaJjm1ej
Source: International Business Times UK
