Providence, Rhode Island — While sitting in the stands during a hockey game, Michael Black heard what he thought Balloons popped before they quickly realized it was gunfire. As dozens exited Rhode Island Square, Black told his wife to “run, run” and then lunged at the shooter’s gun.
Black managed to catch the chamber of Robert Dorgan’s gun with his left hand, jamming it and then briefly attempted to squeeze Dorgan. But Dorgan, a former bodybuilder, lifted Black into the air before at least two bystanders rushed to subdue the shooter. One of them can be seen in a video putting Dorgan in a chokehold.
Dorgan fell to the ground and Black was on top of him. The shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after pulling out a second gun with his eyes closed. Black didn’t hear Dorgan say a single word.
“The first thought was my wife’s safety. The second thought was to focus on the gun, because the bullets were coming out,” Black said. “Get the gun and then subdue the shooter.”
Pawtucket police said the shooter behind Monday’s deadly ice rink tragedy was Robert Dorgan, who also went by Roberta Esposito and Roberta Dorgano.
Dorgan’s ex-wife, Rhonda Dorgan, and her adult son, Aidan Dorgan, were killed in the shooting, and three others were injured: Rhonda Dorgan’s parents, Linda and Gerald Dorgan; and family friend Thomas Girosso, all of whom remained in critical condition Wednesday.
Pawtucket police say the group of “courageous citizens” who rushed to intervene in the attack “undoubtedly prevented further injuries and increased the chances of survival for those injured.” Along with Black, Robert Ratney and Ryan Cordero are credited with subduing the suspect. Separately, Chris Liberzi and Glenn Narodoy, both retired Rhode Island firefighters and EMTs, and nurse Marian Ratini, provided first aid in the immediate aftermath of the accident.
“I look at it as a fortunate thing, very sad about the loss, but fortunate that a small group of people can make a difference,” Black said in a Zoom interview Thursday from South Carolina, where he was on a college visit with his son.
Authorities have not directly said that Dorgan was transgender, and have said that questions about Dorgan’s gender identity are not relevant to their investigations surrounding the case.
However, court records from Dorgan’s past show that gender identity was at least one contributing factor in Dorgan’s wife filing for divorce in 2020 after nearly 30 years of marriage. Dorgan’s X account mentions being transgender and participating in far-right ideologies.
Dorgan walked through the rows of seats, determined to shoot more people, Black said. As he pinned the shooter’s head to his knee, Black said he noticed Dorgan had extra magazines containing “a fair number of bullets.”
With Dorgan’s death, other bystanders rushed to provide treatment to the five people who had been shot and were lying between the stands. There was blood everywhere. Police arrived within minutes and Black, with his injured hand, was escorted out to the parking lot where he met his wife.
“My wife saw me and ran under the yellow tape, grabbed me from behind, and we had a big hug,” Black said. “I heard you helped with the shooting,” she said. She said, “What’s all the blood?” “I got my hand stuck in the gun,” I said. Then she said, “Honey, I don’t know if I should be proud of you, but I’m mad at you for putting yourself in this situation.”
As he sat in the hospital receiving treatment for his injured hand, Black recalled a nurse calling him a hero — a label repeatedly applied to the three bystanders in recent days.
“I said I don’t feel like a champion right now,” Black said. “I looked up and I could feel the family. So I started having some tears in my eyes. Then I had tears in her eyes too. It was just a decompression moment at that point.”
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Casey reported from Boston.