PAWTUCKET, R.I. (AP) — Three people, including the suspect, were fatally shot during a Rhode Island youth hockey game Monday, authorities said.
Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves told reporters that three other victims were hospitalized in critical condition. The shooter died from an apparent self-inflicted gun wound, she said.
While police were not involved in the shooter’s death, authorities were still investigating, she said.
“It appears that this was a targeted event, that it may be a family dispute,” she said.
Goncalves did not provide details about the suspect or the ages of those who were killed, though she said it appeared that both victims were adults.
She said investigators were trying to piece together what happened and speak with witnesses of the shooting inside Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, a few miles outside Providence. They also were reviewing video taken from the hockey game. Unverified footage circulating on social media shows players diving for cover and fans fleeing their seats after popping sounds are heard.
Outside the arena, tearful families and high school hockey players still in uniform could be seen hugging before they boarded a bus to leave the area. Roads surrounding the arena were shut down as a heavy police presence remained and helicopters flew overhead.
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Monday’s shooting comes nearly two months after Rhode Island was rocked by a separate gun violence tragedy at Brown University, where a gunman killed two students and wounded nine others. That shooter went on to also fatally shoot a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor. Authorities later found Claudio Neves Valente, 48, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at a New Hampshire storage facility.
“The fortunate thing is that the two incidents are not related, but it is very tragic,” said Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien. “These are high school kids. They were doing an event, they were playing with their families watching, a fun time, and it turned into this.”
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Pawtucket is nestled just north of Providence and right under the Massachusetts state border. A city of just under 80,000, Pawtucket had up until recently been known as the home to Hasbro’s headquarters.
One of the team’s involved, from the Coventry School District, released a statement, saying, “The Coventry School District confirms that all students from the Boys Hockey team who were present during a reported incident at Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, RI have been accounted for and are safe. District officials were notified of the situation while the team was at the arena and immediately began coordinating with event staff and law enforcement. An officer from the Coventry Police Department is on scene and remains with the students. School staff are also present and supervising the team. The district is continuing to monitor developments and is working with authorities as reunification and transportation plans are finalized. At this time, the district’s focus is on student safety, family communication, and ensuring a calm and orderly return home.
We are grateful for the swift response of first responders and arena personnel. Additional updates will be shared if appropriate as more verified information becomes available.”
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