On February 16, there was a deadly shooting in a Pawtucket hockey rink that left three dead, two injured, and a community grieving.

Aidan Dorgan, Rhonda Dorgan, and Gerald Dorgan were killed, and another two people were injured. After the shooter was tackled, they took a second gun from their clothing and shot themselves.

Colin Dorgan, son of Rhonda Dorgan, had been playing on the ice at the time. A week later, as captain, he would lead his team to victory in a local championship.

The shooter was Robert Dorgan, the ex-husband of Rhonda Dorgan and parent of Aidan Dorgan. While the motive for the shooting has not been identified, it has been assumed to be an instance of domestic violence.

Robert Dorgan, who also went by Roberta Dorgano and Roberta Esposito, was a 56-year-old trans woman. Dorgan transitioned after their divorce, though they never legally changed their name and had a history of mental instability and violence. They also had an SS tattoo done on their arm, the symbol of the SS regiment that committed many of the Nazis’ worst crimes. They had also attacked Sarah McBride, the first transgender member of Congress, shortly before the shooting, claiming that she was a “hyper-conservative, hyper-Christian, hyper-gender-dysphoric woman.”

The first news reports referred to the shooter as Robert, with some later calling them Rhonda. The confusion led to conflicting reports of whether the shooter was transgender and how they were related to the victims.

When it was officially announced that they were transgender, several conservative social media accounts, like Libs of TikTok, used this as an opportunity to criticize transgender communities. In response to these criticisms, many pushed back on social media, arguing that they were transphobic and hateful.

In all this arguing, some have forgotten about what happened. A parent killed their ex-wife, son, and father-in-law before killing themselves. A son and daughter have been left with most of their family dead. The NHL and head of the men’s Olympic hockey team called it a tragedy, and the Bruins and Bluejackets held a moment of silence in their first game.

Services were held the next day for those who died. Their funeral was on March 12.