Rhode Island Hockey Game Shooting: How did the shooter die? Cops reveal chilling update on fatal incident that killed 3, left as many injured

Rhode Island hockey game shooting: At least three people, including the suspect, were fatally shot, and three others sustained serious injuries during a Rhode Island youth hockey game Monday (February 16, 2026), authorities said.

Speaking to reporters about the shooting incident, Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves said that three other victims were hospitalized in critical condition, according to news agency AP. The shooter died from an apparent self-inflicted gun wound, she said. On the death of the suspected shooter, Goncalves denied police involvement and said that authorities were still investigating.

“It appears that the killing was a targeted event, that it may be a family dispute,” she said, as quoted by AP. The shooting incident that unfolded on Monday came nearly two months after Rhode Island was rocked by a separate gun violence tragedy at Brown University, where a gunman killed two students and wounded nine others.


The Brown University shooter, identified as Claudio Neves Valente, went on to also fatally shoot a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor. Authorities later found the 48-year-old shooter dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at a New Hampshire storage facility.

Goncalves did not reveal details of the suspect and the victim

Goncalves did not provide details about the suspect or the ages of those who were killed at the time of filing of this report, AP reported. She, however, said that it appeared that both victims were adults.

Authorities intensify probe

Goncalves said investigators were trying to piece together what happened and speak with witnesses of the shooting inside Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, a few miles outside Providence.

They also were reviewing video taken from the hockey game. Unverified footage circulating on social media shows players diving for cover and fans fleeing their seats after popping sounds are heard.

Outside the arena, tearful families and high school hockey players still in uniform could be seen hugging before they boarded a bus to leave the area. Roads surrounding the arena were shut down as a heavy police presence remained and helicopters flew overhead.

“The fortunate thing is that the two incidents are not related, but it is very tragic,” Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien was quoted as saying by AP. “These are high school kids. They were doing an event; they were playing with their families watching, having a fun time, and it turned into this.”

Pawtucket is nestled just north of Providence and right under the Massachusetts state border. A city of just under 80,000, Pawtucket had up until recently been known as the home to Hasbro’s headquarters.