What started as a routine high school hockey tournament in Pawtucket became a scene of unimaginable horror Monday afternoon. Robert Dorgan, 56, armed himself with multiple firearms and systematically targeted his own family members, killing two people and critically wounding three others before turning the gun on himself. The victims included his son’s mother and sibling — people he once called family.
But this wasn’t a sudden snap. Warning signs had been flashing for years. Court documents reveal a bitter 2020 divorce where Dorgan’s ex-wife cited his gender reassignment surgery and personality disorder traits as grounds for ending their marriage. The night before the shooting, Dorgan posted an ominous threat on social media: “keep bashing us. but do not wonder why we Go BERSERK” — a chilling prophecy he would fulfill less than 24 hours later.
The chaos unfolded with terrifying speed at 2:30 PM as families watched their children compete. A hero parent tried to disarm Dorgan, successfully wrestling away one weapon — only to discover the gunman had brought backup firearms. Livestream footage captured the pandemonium: spectators stampeding toward exits while others desperately performed CPR on bleeding victims. Police arrived within two minutes, but the damage was already catastrophic.
Now three people fight for their lives in critical condition while a community grapples with an unthinkable reality. This wasn’t random violence — it was a calculated family execution carried out in the most public, traumatic way possible. As investigators piece together the full scope of Dorgan’s mental health struggles and family disputes, one haunting question remains: how many warning signs does it take before someone intervenes to prevent the unpreventable?
Source: nypost.com