3 Killed In Shooting During Youth Hockey Game

Three people, including the gunman, were killed during a youth hockey game in Rhode Island, authorities confirmed.

Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves said three more people remain hospitalized and are in critical condition. The suspect died from what officials believe was a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Goncalves described the shooting as a targeted incident and said it may have been connected to a family dispute.

Police have not shared details about the suspect or confirmed the ages of those who died, though they said the victims appear to be adults.

Investigators are continuing to sort out exactly what happened; they are interviewing witnesses to better understand how events unfolded. Surveillance footage from the arena is also being reviewed.

An unverified video circulating online appears to show players dropping to the ice and spectators scrambling from their seats as gunshots ring out.

Melissa Dunn was at the arena watching her son’s game when the shooting unfolded. She recalls seeing paramedics doing CPR in the stands after rushing in to look for her son.

At first, she said, people were confused and didn’t realize what was happening; they just heard loud popping sounds.

Once she realized it was gunfire, she shouted for her son to get down and stay low.

The shooting took place at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, just outside Providence.

Outside the rink, high school hockey players and families hugged and wiped away tears before leaving the area on a bus. Roads around the arena were shut down, helicopters circled overhead, and a heavy police presence remained in the area.

The shooting happened less than two months after another gunman opened fire in Rhode Island, killing two students and wounding nine others.

That same suspect later traveled to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he fatally shot a professor.

Authorities later identified the gunman as 48-year-old Claudio Neves Valente. He was eventually found dead at a storage facility in New Hampshire from what investigators determined was a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien said the two shootings are not connected; still, he described both incidents as heartbreaking.

At the time of the latest shooting, high school students were simply playing hockey while their families cheered them on, enjoying the game, when gunfire suddenly broke out.

Pawtucket is located about eight kilometers north of Providence, close to the Massachusetts border.