The tragic incident at a Rhode Island high school hockey game, where a transgender individual opened fire, has brought to light a troubling online history filled with antisemitic and racist remarks. The shooter, initially known as Robert Dorgan before transitioning to Roberta Esposito, unleashed a deadly attack at the Pawtucket ice rink on Monday. This horrific event claimed the lives of two family members, left three others injured, and concluded with the shooter taking their own life.
Prior to this act of violence, Dorgan’s social media presence was alarming, marked by a barrage of inflammatory content shared on his X account. His posts frequently expressed anger over anti-trans sentiments while simultaneously endorsing pro-Nazi ideologies. This dichotomy painted a deeply disturbing portrait of his mindset leading up to the tragic event.
Just a day before the shooting, Dorgan posted an offensive comment using an Asian slur in response to a video that glorified Adolf Hitler, stating, “Really nice but a ch–k made that song.” This was just one example of his engagement in hate speech.
In addition to these comments, Dorgan’s online activity included repeated references to “white power” and “white pride worldwide.” He also retweeted videos of individuals performing the “Sieg Heil” Nazi salute, further evidencing his disturbing views.
In other replies, he repeatedly referenced “white power” and “white pride world wide.”
He also retweeted footage of people doing the “Sieg Heil” Nazi salute.
Dorgan made an ominous post on X the night before the shooting as he raged at a fellow user who called trans Democratic Rep. Sarah McBride a man.
“Keep bashing us. But do not wonder why we Go BERSERK,” Dorgan wrote in the chilling post.
The manic posts surfaced after Dorgan, who underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2020, gunned his down relatives sitting in the stands of the ice rink on Monday afternoon.
Officials said the gunman fatally shot one of his own sons and the boy’s mom.
Police haven’t yet released their names.
Investigators are still probing a motive but the shooting unfolded after years of heated court disputes over his trans identity.
His ex-wife, Rhonda Dorgan, filed for divorce in 2020 on the grounds of “gender reassignment surgery, narcissistic + personality disorder traits,” according to the court filing obtained by WPRI.
Their split was finalized in 2021.
The three people who were injured in the shooting included two other relatives and a family friend. They remained in a critical condition, cops said.
A woman spotted leaving the Pawtucket police station in the wake of the shooting identified herself as the gunman’s daughter, telling reporters he “has mental health issues” and was “very sick.”
“He shot my family and he’s dead now,” she said.
