Witnesses Recall Tackling a Father During a Tragic Incident That Claimed Lives of Three People at Rhode Island Hockey Game

What began as "balloons popping" during a Rhode Island hockey game spiraled into chaos within minutes. Now, a bystander is revealing the second-by-second timeline, including the moment everything could have ended even worse.

It sounded harmless at first. Just a couple of pops echoing across the ice.

An eyewitness was sitting in the bleachers at Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, just before 3 p.m. Monday, February 16, 2026, when the noise cut through the first period of a high school hockey game.

The home team had just gone up 1–0. There were about 10 minutes left in the period.

"I heard two shots, and I said, 'balloons popping,'" the witness, Michael Black, told WCVB 5 News. "I heard another popping and recognized it was not a balloon."

He looked up. That's when he saw a pistol pointed toward people seated in the second row. His wife was beside him. "I told my wife to run," he said.

She moved. Michael didn't.

The Split-Second Decision

He was standing on the third step of the bleachers. The gunman was about one and a half levels below him. He jumped. "I just grabbed, went for the gun and I got my hand caught," he said.

His left hand became lodged in the chamber as the weapon discharged, jamming it and preventing it from firing again.

For a moment, the fight was physical and close. "They're trying to tackle him. And then he fell down, and he fell right towards me. So he was on his back," Michael said, describing how other men, including someone named Bob, rushed in to help.

Additional magazines loaded into the gun spilled out during the struggle. The first gun was now in Michael's control. It should have been over.

The Detail No One Expected

Michael said he and the shooter locked eyes between the bleacher rows. He was holding the firearm he had wrestled away, but did not have it positioned to fire.

Then he noticed movement. The man reached into his jacket pocket. What happened next is the part that still feels unreal to him. The shooter pulled out a second gun, one that appeared identical to the first. For a split second, no one moved.

Then he lifted it. Seconds later, the man placed the weapon into his mouth and shot himself.

Police and SWAT arrived within minutes. Michael later handed one of the firearms to responding officers. He suffered a burn to his face from an ejected shell and a significant injury to his hand.

Still, he resisted being called a hero.

"That's not the right definition for me," he said. "There's heroes in my life, and I would definitely not put that definition towards myself."

After the Chaos

After officers isolated him because of his hand injury, Michael asked to see his wife. In an interview with NBC 10 WJAR News, he described what happened next.

"Well it's interesting. So after they found out that, you know, my hand was bleeding, there was a big chunk of skin missing, and the whole thing. So the police officers, the gentleman who was in charge, basically isolated me with another officer and said you know, keep Michael over here."

He added, "You know I asked the police officer I said I think it's important I let my wife know." adding:

"The two officers escorted me outside and next thing I know I you know my wife's running underneath the the the the yellow barricade tape and kind of jumped on me and her first words is 'honey I don't know if to be proud of you or be upset with you that you put yourself in that kind of risk.'"

He was later asked if he would do it again. "You're the first person to ask me. Um, yeah. Yeah, I think I would," he said. "If my family is safe and there's a live shooter and if I felt that I could assist, I think it's almost instinctual."

Only later would the full scope of what happened inside the arena become clear.

A 'Swift End' But Not Before Lives Were Lost

Police identified the gunman as 56-year-old Robert Dorgan, who also went by Roberta Esposito. Two people were fatally shot, three others were wounded, and Robert died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said.

Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves described the violence as domestic in nature. "A good Samaritan stepped in and interjected in the scene, and that's probably what led to a swift end of this tragic event," she said.

The Family Connection

Only later did Michael learn who the victims were and how close they had been sitting to him. The gunman had not targeted strangers. The victims were members of Robert's own family.

His ex-wife, Rhonda Dorgan, and his son, Aiden Dorgan, were killed. Aiden had recently proposed to his fiancée, who was also at the game but was not injured. The family had gathered to support 17-year-old Colin Dorgan, who was playing on the ice when the shots rang out.

Amanda Wallace-Hubbard, Robert's daughter, told NBC 10 WJAR News that her father frequently attended Collins' games. "He shows up to Collin's games often, so I wasn't terribly surprised," she said.

She recalled him approaching the stands shortly before the shooting. "He actually walked up to us while we were sitting in the stands, and then I looked at him, and he turned around and walked away."

Later, she said, shots rang out. Amanda described her father as someone who struggled with mental health issues throughout his adult life:

"I think his gender identity issues are a symptom of a deeper issue. He was ostracized from the family because he had a long history of violence and abuse."

When asked whether there had been warning signs that day, she said, "No. He's always had a very bizarre way about him."

A History of Disputes

Court records reviewed by WPRI 12 News show Robert had a history of family conflict, including disputes tied to his gender identity.

In 2020, he reported undergoing gender-reassignment surgery and claimed his father-in-law threatened him. Court documents state Robert said his father-in-law threatened to "have him murdered by an Asian street gang if he did not move out of the residence."

He also accused his mother of assaulting him. She was charged with simple assault and battery and disorderly conduct, though the case was later dismissed.

At the time, Robert told police his father-in-law "told me that if I did not drop the assault charges against my mother that further retaliation could be expected and that was another reason to have me killed."

In a statement Monday night, the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence described the situation as "deeply painful," saying domestic violence "does not stay behind closed doors. It affects children, extended family members, and entire communities."

Between the popping sounds and the second gun, a split-second decision changed the course of those final seconds. And in the middle of a youth hockey game that should have been ordinary, a father was tackled, and a tragedy ended faster than it might have otherwise.