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The shooter's history includes a Nazi tattoo and amplifying far-right conspiracy theories online.
The Dorgan family says they are heartbroken after a mass shooting left a mother and son dead and others injured.
Christopher Wiggins is The Advocate’s senior national reporter in Washington, D.C., covering the intersection of public policy and politics with LGBTQ+ lives. He reports from the White House, the U.S. Congress, the Supreme Court, and federal agencies. Wiggins has written multiple cover story profiles for The Advocate’s print magazine, featuring figures such as Delaware Congresswoman Sarah McBride, former CDC immunizations chief Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, longtime LGBTQ+ ally Vice President Kamala Harris, and ABC Good Morning America Weekend anchor Gio Benitez. As a three-time GLAAD Media Award-nominated journalist, Wiggins is committed to amplifying untold stories, especially as the second Trump administration’s policies impact LGBTQ+ ( particularly transgender) rights.
He can be reached at christopher.wiggins@equalpride.com or on BlueSky at cwnewser.bsky.social: whistleblowers can contact him securely on Signal at cwdc.98.
As police work to establish a motive in Monday’s deadly shooting at a Rhode Island ice rink, investigators are examining a trail of far-right and conspiratorial social media content linked to the suspect and images showing Nazi imagery. Authorities identified the shooter as Roberta Esposito, a transgender woman, whose attack killed two members of her own family and left three others critically injured.
Keep up with the latest in LGBTQ+ news and politics. Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter.
The gunfire that cut through a youth ice hockey game at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket on Monday turned senior night into chaos. By the end of the afternoon, three people were dead, including the shooter, and three others were critically injured. Police have identified the two victims killed as Rhonda Dorgan, 52, and her son, 23-year-old Aidan Dorgan. Esposito was Rhonda’s ex-spouse and Aidan’s parent. She died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside the arena, according to authorities.
Police and some news organizations have referred to Esposito by her deadname and misgendered her in initial coverage.
Related: Minneapolis mayor warns against 'villainizing trans community' after shooting leaves 2 children dead
Related: CNN anchor embarrasses White House counterterrorism chief over false transgender mass shooter stats
The three people critically injured were Rhonda’s parents, Linda and Gerald Dorgan, and a family friend, Thomas Geruso, police said. Chief Tina Goncalves has described the attack as targeted and domestic in nature, according to the Providence Journal. Investigators say Esposito entered the arena, left, and then re-entered before opening fire. There does not appear to have been a confrontation beforehand, and her presence was not unusual; her child was one of the players, and she had attended games before.
The weapons were legal. Goncalves said Esposito used a 10mm Glock and a Sig Sauer 226, both purchased lawfully, and that she held a Florida license to carry; investigators are reviewing whether she had permits elsewhere. When three bystanders rushed in to intervene, Goncalves said, Esposito reached for a second firearm and then shot herself. Several first responders who were at the game rendered aid, and police arrived within about a minute of the first call.
In a Facebook post, family friend Titia Sperry wrote that Rhonda was “a beacon of light in this dark world,” adding that she was “always with a smile on her face” and “literally the sweetest, loving person on this earth.” Sperry said Rhonda “raised the most beautiful children despite the things she endured,” and lamented that “the media chooses to focus on him and not his victims.” “They should be the ones getting the support and the recognition,” she wrote, adding that the loss would reverberate far beyond the rink: “Everyone in that rink and beyond will be affected by this forever… our hockey family will never be the same.” She also thanked friends who “selflessly tried to help in the most dangerous of situations.”
Related: Canadian school shooting sparks anti-trans uproar after shooter identified
Related: N.C. waterfront restaurant mass shooting suspect was obsessed with anti-LGBTQ+ conspiracy theories
A GoFundMe campaign verified by the company says the shooting left two younger children, Ava and Colin Dorgan, without their mother and older brother, and with their grandparents in critical condition. The fundraiser has raised more than $130,000. It identifies Esposito as the children’s parent and says it was created to help with living and education expenses after the attack.
Rhode Island’s judiciary portal lists multiple family court and civil cases involving Esposito spanning decades, including divorce and other domestic matters. Divorce filings from 2020 show that gender-affirming surgery was initially cited before irreconcilable differences; the marriage, begun in 1992, ended in 2021. Police say they are still working to establish a motive and are reviewing a large volume of Esposito’s social media activity.
The rush to narrative has been swift. Figures in MAGA-aligned corners of the internet quickly focused on Esposito’s gender identity and the unverified online material.
That digital trail has already become its own battleground. Photos show Esposito with a bicep tattoo resembling the Nazi Totenkopf death’s-head and lightning bolts like the letters “SS,” the Providence Journal reports. The same reporting noted an account that described its politics as “to the right of Hitler.” Separately, an X account connected to the shooter appears to show years of engagement with far-right and conspiratorial content.
Law enforcement has not publicly confirmed the ownership of any specific account.
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As police work to establish a motive in Monday’s deadly shooting at a Rhode Island ice rink, investigators are examining a trail of far-right and conspiratorial social media content linked to the suspect and images showing Nazi imagery. Authorities identified the shooter as Roberta Esposito, a transgender woman, whose attack killed two members of her own family and left three others critically injured.
Keep up with the latest in LGBTQ+ news and politics. Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter.
The gunfire that cut through a youth ice hockey game at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket on Monday turned senior night into chaos. By the end of the afternoon, three people were dead, including the shooter, and three others were critically injured. Police have identified the two victims killed as Rhonda Dorgan, 52, and her son, 23-year-old Aidan Dorgan. Esposito was Rhonda’s ex-spouse and Aidan’s parent. She died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside the arena, according to authorities.
Police and some news organizations have referred to Esposito by her deadname and misgendered her in initial coverage.
Related: Minneapolis mayor warns against 'villainizing trans community' after shooting leaves 2 children dead
Related: CNN anchor embarrasses White House counterterrorism chief over false transgender mass shooter stats
The three people critically injured were Rhonda’s parents, Linda and Gerald Dorgan, and a family friend, Thomas Geruso, police said. Chief Tina Goncalves has described the attack as targeted and domestic in nature, according to the Providence Journal. Investigators say Esposito entered the arena, left, and then re-entered before opening fire. There does not appear to have been a confrontation beforehand, and her presence was not unusual; her child was one of the players, and she had attended games before.
The weapons were legal. Goncalves said Esposito used a 10mm Glock and a Sig Sauer 226, both purchased lawfully, and that she held a Florida license to carry; investigators are reviewing whether she had permits elsewhere. When three bystanders rushed in to intervene, Goncalves said, Esposito reached for a second firearm and then shot herself. Several first responders who were at the game rendered aid, and police arrived within about a minute of the first call.
In a Facebook post, family friend Titia Sperry wrote that Rhonda was “a beacon of light in this dark world,” adding that she was “always with a smile on her face” and “literally the sweetest, loving person on this earth.” Sperry said Rhonda “raised the most beautiful children despite the things she endured,” and lamented that “the media chooses to focus on him and not his victims.” “They should be the ones getting the support and the recognition,” she wrote, adding that the loss would reverberate far beyond the rink: “Everyone in that rink and beyond will be affected by this forever… our hockey family will never be the same.” She also thanked friends who “selflessly tried to help in the most dangerous of situations.”
Related: Canadian school shooting sparks anti-trans uproar after shooter identified
Related: N.C. waterfront restaurant mass shooting suspect was obsessed with anti-LGBTQ+ conspiracy theories
A GoFundMe campaign verified by the company says the shooting left two younger children, Ava and Colin Dorgan, without their mother and older brother, and with their grandparents in critical condition. The fundraiser has raised more than $130,000. It identifies Esposito as the children’s parent and says it was created to help with living and education expenses after the attack.
Rhode Island’s judiciary portal lists multiple family court and civil cases involving Esposito spanning decades, including divorce and other domestic matters. Divorce filings from 2020 show that gender-affirming surgery was initially cited before irreconcilable differences; the marriage, begun in 1992, ended in 2021. Police say they are still working to establish a motive and are reviewing a large volume of Esposito’s social media activity.
The rush to narrative has been swift. Figures in MAGA-aligned corners of the internet quickly focused on Esposito’s gender identity and the unverified online material.
That digital trail has already become its own battleground. Photos show Esposito with a bicep tattoo resembling the Nazi Totenkopf death’s-head and lightning bolts like the letters “SS,” the Providence Journal reports. The same reporting noted an account that described its politics as “to the right of Hitler.” Separately, an X account connected to the shooter appears to show years of engagement with far-right and conspiratorial content.
Law enforcement has not publicly confirmed the ownership of any specific account.
Data from the Williams Institute at UCLA show transgender adults were more than four times as likely as cisgender adults to experience violent victimization, highlighting that transgender people are far more often victims of crime than perpetrators.
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