Rhode Island Shooting: Suspect's Daughter Identifies Father As Shooter, Says He Struggled With Mental Health

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The daughter of the suspect in the Rhode Island shooting identified her father as the shooter, revealing that he was ill and struggled with mental health issues. The youth hockey game on Monday ended in tragedy, with three people, including the suspect, fatally shot.

Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves confirmed that three other victims were hospitalised in critical condition and that the shooter appears to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to AP.

She stated that authorities were continuing their investigation, even though police were not involved in the shooter's death.

She said that investigators were working to piece together what occurred and were speaking with witnesses of the shooting inside Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, a few miles from Providence. They were also checking video recorded during the hockey game. Unverified footage spreading on social media shows players diving for cover and fans running from their seats following popping sounds.

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Outside the arena, grieving relatives and high school hockey players still wearing their uniforms embraced one another before boarding buses to depart. Roads around the venue were closed off, and a strong police presence remained in place, with helicopters circling overhead.

Monday's shooting occurred almost eight weeks after Rhode Island was shaken by another act of gun violence at Brown University, where a shooter killed two students and injured nine more. That attacker also fatally shot a professor from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Investigators later discovered 48‐year‐old Claudio Neves Valente dead from a self‐inflicted gunshot wound at a storage facility in New Hampshire.

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

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The Federal Bureau Of Investigation (FBI ) mentioned that it had responded to the shooting scene and was prepared to support local authorities if required.

FBI Director Kash Patel took to X and said,“@FBIBoston is responding to the shooting this afternoon at Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, RI - we will provide state and local law enforcement any and all resources necessary and keep the public updated as we are able. In the meantime please pray for the victims and their families.”

Located just north of Providence and bordering Massachusetts, Pawtucket is a city of nearly 80,000 residents. Until recently, it was best known as the home of Hasbro's corporate headquarters.

Monday's shooting at a high school ice hockey game happened just two months after a mass shooting at Brown University, which is only about 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometers) away. Mass shootings frequently occur in the United States, where relatively lenient gun laws make firearms easily accessible.

In 2025, the Gun Violence Archive recorded over 400 mass shootings-defined as incidents in which four or more people were shot or killed, excluding the shooter.

Overall, gun violence was responsible for at least 14,703 deaths last year, not counting suicides.

(With inputs from agencies)

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