‘I went for the gun’ – local hero recalls how he confronted Pawtucket ice rink killer

The first sound of gunfire didn’t trigger panic quite like you might imagine, Pawtucket ice rink shooting eyewitness and hero Michael Black recalls. He says there were about ten minutes left in the first period of the senior night hockey game at Lynch Arena when it happened. ‘As I was watching the game, I heard a “pop, pop”. And I thought they were balloons – I thought they were big balloons. And the noise was right in front of me. I looked, and I saw, and heard another pop, and recognized there wasn’t any balloons there, and thought that there was something wrong,’ he told NBC 10. For a split second, confusion reigned. That was quickly replaced by fear and panic. (Picture: AP)

That all changed when Black looked properly. He said he saw a pistol being directed at people in the second row. ‘At that point of time, as soon as I saw the pistol, my wife was sitting next to me with some friends, and we didn’t even look at each other, and I just said run, run!’ Black said. People started moving in different directions as the noise in the rink shifted from cheering to shouting and screaming. (Picture: NBC 10 WJAR)

Hero Black described waiting briefly for an opening before making his move. ‘I kind of waited and as soon as I saw a clear path, I got on the third level step and he was on the one and a half, and I just jumped across and went for the gun. I wanted to grab the gun. And what had happened was, my hand got caught in the sliding chamber and he shot, and my hand got caught and I was holding him down with my body.’ The hand trapped in the chamber stopped the weapon from firing again. (Picture: AP)

The struggle didn’t stop there. Black said there was a shove, then a roll onto the bleachers as others rushed in. He described several more people helping to restrain the shooter. In the chaos, the assailant ended up below him on the seating. ‘So literally I’m looking down and he’s looking up and we were staring right at each other. And at that point in time, I wanted to come down and put my knee or something to put it on his body to try to hold them down,’ Black said. The aim was simply to prevent more shots being fired at anyone. (Picture: NBC 10 WJAR)

Black said the confrontation ended abruptly. And in the most dramatic of ways. ‘That’s when the shooter pulled out a second gun and shot himself.’ Later, sitting in hospital, Michael reflected on what happened. ‘When I saw what the police did, fire, paramedics, at the hospital last night, I have such a high-level appreciation of what they do every day. And as I was sitting at the hospital last night, I recognize, you know, I have heroes in my life, but these should be our heroes.’ (Picture: AP)

The tragic shooting ripped through what had been a packed community event, with families, pupils and staff gathered to celebrate senior night. Within minutes, the rink shifted from cheers, music and fun to an incredibly dangerous and deadly place to be. Once on the scene, police secured the building as sections of the arena were cleared, while fire crews and paramedics moved in to treat the injured and assess the situation. Parents made frantic calls. Players were ushered off the ice. What had started as a fun local sports evening out became a full-scale crime scene. (Picture: X)

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Authorities have identified the suspected shooter as Robert Dorgan (who also goes by the name Roberta Esposito). Emergency services responded rapidly, with police, fire crews and paramedics attending the scene before injured individuals were transported to hospital. Investigators are now working to establish how the weapons entered the arena and to piece together the exact timeline of events inside the rink. (Picture: Facebook)

‘I went for the gun’ – local hero recalls how he confronted Pawtucket ice rink killer

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