{"id":478593,"date":"2026-02-19T21:29:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T21:29:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/478593\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T21:29:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T21:29:12","slug":"how-a-group-of-courageous-citizens-helped-stop-the-rhode-island-ice-rink-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/478593\/","title":{"rendered":"How a group of courageous citizens helped stop the Rhode Island ice rink shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) \u2014 Sitting in the stands at a hockey game, Michael Black heard what he thought was popping balloons before quickly realizing it was gunfire<\/a>. As dozens of people rushed out of the Rhode Island arena, Black told his wife to \u201crun, run\u201d and then lunged toward the shooter\u2019s handgun.<\/p>\n

Black managed to get his left hand caught in the chamber of Robert Dorgan\u2019s gun, jamming it and then briefly attempted to hold Dorgan down. But Dorgan, a former bodybuilder, hoisted Black into the air before at least two other bystanders rushed over to subdue the shooter. One of them could be seen on video putting Dorgan into a choke hold.<\/p>\n

Dorgan fell to the ground, with the 58-year-old Black on top of him. The shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot after pulling out a second gun as the two locked eyes. Black never heard Dorgan say a word. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thought was the safety of my wife. And the second thought was, because the bullets were coming out, was to focus in on the gun,\u201d said Black, who ran a printing company until he retired in 2021 and has no specialized emergency response training. \u201cGet the gun and then subdue the shooter.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n AP AUDIO: When Rhode Island shooter started firing, bystanders jumped into action to end the carnage\n <\/p>\n

A Rhode Island man is being called a hero for stopping a gunman at an ice rink. AP correspondent Donna Warder reports.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Police<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Pawtucket police have said the shooter behind the deadly ice rink tragedy on Monday was Robert Dorgan, who also went by Roberta Esposito and Roberta Dorgano.<\/p>\n

Dorgan\u2019s ex-wife Rhonda Dorgan and adult son Aidan Dorgan were killed in the shooting, and three others were injured: Rhonda Dorgan\u2019s parents, Linda and Gerald Dorgan; and a family friend, Thomas Geruso, all of whom remained in critical condition Wednesday. <\/p>\n

\u2018Courageous citizens\u2019 help stop tragedy<\/p>\n

Along with Black, Robert Rattenni and Ryan Cordeiro are being credited as subduing the suspect. Separately, Chris Librizzi and Glenn Narodowy, both retired Rhode Island firefighters and EMTs, and nurse Maryann Rattenni provided first aid in the immediate aftermath.<\/p>\n

Pawtucket police say this group of \u201ccourageous citizens\u201d who rushed to intervene in the attack \u201cundoubtedly prevented further injury and increased the chances of survival for the injured.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI look at it as being fortunate, saddened tremendously in the loss, but fortunate that a small group of people could make a difference,\u201d Black said in a Zoom interview Thursday from South Carolina where he was on a college visit with his son. <\/p>\n

\"Police<\/p>\n

\n Police continue to tape off the Dennis M. Lynch arena a day after a deadly shooting during a youth hockey game on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026 in Pawtucket, R.I. (AP Photo\/Rodrique Ngowi)\n <\/p>\n

Police continue to tape off the Dennis M. Lynch arena a day after a deadly shooting during a youth hockey game on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026 in Pawtucket, R.I. (AP Photo\/Rodrique Ngowi)<\/p>\n

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\"Police<\/p>\n

\n Police and ATF agents stand near the Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, R.I., after a shooting at the ice rink, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo\/Mark Stockwell)\n <\/p>\n

Police and ATF agents stand near the Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, R.I., after a shooting at the ice rink, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo\/Mark Stockwell)<\/p>\n

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One of the more puzzling unsolved questions surrounding the ice rink shooting is over why Dorgan chose the Dennis M. Lynch arena. It was a familiar spot for Dorgan\u2019s family, with Aidan Dorgan, 23, playing hockey and had once hoped to be recruited by a college hockey team. He\u2019d shown up Monday to watch his little brother\u2019s hockey match with his mom, grandparents and other family. Dorgan had also been known to frequent the arena to watch family matches.<\/p>\n

On Monday, Amanda Wallace-Hubbard, Aidan Dorgan\u2019s sister and stepdaughter to Rhonda Dorgan, was in the stands. She has since credited Black as the reason she\u2019s still alive since she was likely next in line to have been shot.<\/p>\n

Black also said a detective reached out to him Tuesday to say that one of Dorgan\u2019s daughters wanted to thank him for his efforts. <\/p>\n

Survivors grapple with hero title <\/p>\n

Authorities have not directly said that Dorgan was transgender and have said questions around Dorgan\u2019s gender identity are not relevant to their investigation surrounding the case.<\/p>\n

However, court records from Dorgan\u2019s past show that gender identity was at least one of the contributing factors to Dorgan\u2019s wife filing for divorce in 2020 after nearly 30 years of marriage. Dorgan\u2019s X account mentions being transgender and sharing far-right ideologies.<\/p>\n

With Dorgan dead, other bystanders rushed to provide treatment for the five people who had been shot and were lying between the bleachers. Blood was everywhere. Police arrived within minutes, and Black with his injured hand was escorted outside in the parking lot where he reunited with his wife.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy wife saw me and she ran underneath the yellow tape, kind of grabbed me from behind, and we gave a big hug,\u201d Black said. \u201cShe said, \u2018I heard you helped with the shooter. And she says, what\u2019s all the blood? I said, \u2019I got my hand caught in the gun.\u2019 And then she said, \u2018Honey, I don\u2019t know whether I should be proud of you, but I\u2019m pissed off at you for putting yourself in that situation.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Police<\/p>\n

Police congregate near the Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, R.I., after a shooting occurred at the ice rink, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo\/Mark Stockwell)<\/p>\n

Police congregate near the Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, R.I., after a shooting occurred at the ice rink, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo\/Mark Stockwell)<\/p>\n

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As he was sitting in the hospital getting treatment on his injured hand, Black recalled a nurse calling him a hero \u2014 a label that has repeatedly been applied to all three bystanders in recent days.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said I don\u2019t feel like I\u2019m a hero right now,\u201d Black said. \u201cI looked up and I was feeling for the family. So I started getting some tears in my eyes. And then she got tears in her eyes, too. It was just a moment of decompression at that point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Black said after the shooting he initially canceled plans to take his son on a college visit to South Carolina before reconsidering and going ahead with the trip.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout an hour and a half later, as I was decompressing a little bit, I was on my couch, the TV, and I had my chocolate Lab next to me, and I started thinking that I\u2019m not going to allow this shooter to change my life,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m not going to allow him to start, you know, dictating or making me afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Casey reported from Boston. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) \u2014 Sitting in the stands at a hockey game, Michael Black heard what he thought…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":478594,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[219989,221199,1927,221197,3071,793,219992,221195,7922,221196,2001,221193,88658,880,219987,219489,221198,219988,219488,221194,4382,5614,99,219997,795],"class_list":{"0":"post-478593","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-aidan-dorgan","9":"tag-amanda-wallace-hubbard","10":"tag-ap-top-news","11":"tag-chris-librizzi","12":"tag-crime","13":"tag-general-news","14":"tag-gerald-dorgan","15":"tag-glenn-narodowy","16":"tag-gun-violence","17":"tag-maryann-rattenni","18":"tag-massachusetts","19":"tag-michael-black","20":"tag-pawtucket","21":"tag-rhode-island","22":"tag-rhonda-dorgan","23":"tag-robert-dorgan","24":"tag-robert-rattenni","25":"tag-roberta-dorgano","26":"tag-roberta-esposito","27":"tag-ryan-cordeiro","28":"tag-shootings","29":"tag-south-carolina","30":"tag-sports","31":"tag-thomas-geruso","32":"tag-u-s-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=478593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478593\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/478594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=478593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=478593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=478593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}