Pawtucket police find firearms in ice rink shooter’s storage locker, identify ‘courageous citizens’ who intervened

Crime

In addition to the firearms found in the storage locker, investigators confirmed that both guns at the shooting belonged to the suspect.

Police in Pawtucket, Rhode Island said Wednesday that they found various firearms, ammunition, and gun accessories in a storage locker belonging to the suspect in a fatal shooting at a high school hockey game Monday.

Investigators previously identified Robert Dorgan, 56, as the assailant who killed his ex-wife, Rhonda Dorgan, and son, Aidan Dorgan, over “a targeted family dispute” at Pawtucket’s Dennis M. Lynch Arena. From Tuesday afternoon to early Wednesday morning, detectives searched Robert Dorgan’s apartment and work locker in Bath, Maine and his storage unit in Brunswick, Maine, authorities said in a statement.

Police seized ammunition, firearm accessories, an electronic device, and personal identification documents from the shooter’s apartment, according to the statement. While they didn’t find anything in the work locker, they seized a sawed-off shotgun, an AR-15 style rifle, a handgun frame, ammunition, and firearm accessories from the storage unit.

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) traced both firearms found at the scene of the shooting back to Robert Dorgan. One was purchased in 2021 in Jacksonville, Fla., and the other was purchased in 2019 in West Warwick, R.I., according to police.

Investigators searched Robert Dorgan’s vehicle, which they identified shortly after the shooting as a white van with a Maine license plate, and found identifying information, police said. They recovered a Florida firearms carry permit from the shooter’s body but found nothing to indicate that Robert Dorgan had a concealed carry permit for Rhode Island.

The seized firearms and ammunition will be brought to the Rhode Island Crime Laboratory to be tested and logged in an ATF firearms database, Pawtucket police said.

Police identify bystanders who jumped in to subdue shooter, aid victims

Pawtucket police acknowledged the “courageous citizens” who intervened in the attack and aided victims. Michael Black, Robert Rattenni, and Ryan Cordeiro subdued the shooter, police said, while former Warwick, R.I. firefighters and EMTs Chris Librizzi and Glenn Narodowy, along with Maryann Rattenni, a nurse, “rendered critical first aid.”

“Their actions undoubtedly prevented further injury and increased the chances of survival for the injured,” police said in the statement. “They exemplified model citizen behavior and true bravery in the face of danger.”

As of Wednesday night, the three surviving victims remain hospitalized and in critical condition, according to the department. Police offered their condolences to the victims and their families and said they will release additional updates as they become available.

“The Pawtucket Police Department will continue to work diligently with our state and federal law enforcement partners as this investigation progresses,” police said. “Our thoughts remain with the victims and their families during this extremely difficult time.”