{"id":2570772,"date":"2026-02-17T16:17:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T21:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nbc-news-buries-background-of-latest-trans-mass-shooting-suspect-he-also-went-by-the-first-name-roberta\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T16:19:26","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T21:19:26","slug":"nbc-news-buries-background-of-latest-trans-mass-shooting-suspect-he-also-went-by-the-first-name-roberta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nbc-news-buries-background-of-latest-trans-mass-shooting-suspect-he-also-went-by-the-first-name-roberta\/","title":{"rendered":"NBC News Buries Background of Latest Trans Mass Shooting Suspect \u2013 He &#8216;Also Went by the First Name Roberta&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">38<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnbc-news-buries-background-of-latest-trans-mass-shooting-suspect-he-also-went-by-the-first-name-roberta%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2570772&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Two people were killed and three injured when a gunman opened fire during a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/video-school-tries-to-shift-blame-on-teammate-after-male-player-knocks-out-teeth-of-girl\/\" title=\"Video: School Blames Teammate for Girl&#039;s Lost Teeth After Male Player&#039;s Action\">high school hockey game<\/a> in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, around 2:30 p.m. on Monday. The suspect, identified by police as Robert Dorgan, who also used the names Roberta esposito, killed himself at the scene. Authorities described the attack as a targeted incident tied to a family dispute, with the shooter entering the arena to watch a family member\u2019s game. Coverage noted initial hesitancy and inconsistencies in how the shooter\u2019s transgender identity was described across outlets. The article also places the incident within a broader discussion of transgender-identifying individuals involved in mass shootings in North America over recent years, citing past cases and related social-media activity.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>A week after a deadly mass shooting in Canada reignited concerns linking transgender individuals with acts of violence, another incident involving a transgender individual has taken place, but that was not the big news as the story was reported.<\/p>\n<p>As noted by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/us-news\/shooting-rhode-island-ice-rink-pawtucket-victims-rcna259266\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NBC News<\/a>, two people were killed and three injured in a shooting that took place at about 2:30 p.m. Monday during a high school hockey game in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, on Monday, officials said.<\/p>\n<p>After summarizing the incident, noting the shooter killed himself, it took until the seventh paragraph before the key piece of information about the shooter was revealed.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The suspect was identified by police as Robert Dorgan, who Goncalves said also went by the first name Roberta and by the last name Esposito,&rdquo; NBC News wrote.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">NOW &ndash; Robert Dorgan, who also goes by the name &ldquo;Roberta Esposito,&rdquo; named as the suspect in the Pawtucket, Rhode Island ice hockey shooting. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ZUQFdcrlF9\">pic.twitter.com\/ZUQFdcrlF9<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/disclosetv\/status\/2023593677730316306?\">February 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Pawtucket Police Department Chief Tina Goncalves said the shooting &ldquo;was a targeted event. It looked like a family dispute and there was one individual that was a family friend.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It appears that a lone individual, the suspect, entered the arena to watch the hockey game of a family member. And unfortunately, during that time, a shooting occurred,&rdquo; Goncalves said.<\/p>\n<p>Hesitancy in telling the facts about trans shooters is nothing new. Last week, after transgender teen Jesse Van Rootselaar killed family members, students, and a teacher in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/canada-sending-top-minister-scene-school-shooting-says-carney-2026-02-11\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Reuters<\/a> labeled him a female.<\/p>\n<p>Police reportedly referred to the suspect as &ldquo;a woman in a dress with brown hair&rdquo; on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>A report in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-15566063\/Robert-Dorgan-gunman-hockey-Rhode-Island-warning-signs.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Daily Mail<\/a> noted that the Rhode Island shooter appeared to have warned he was near the breaking point.<\/p>\n<p>The outlet noted that an account presumed to belong to the shooter posted a video of a woman running on a treadmill while loading a handgun and aiming.<\/p>\n<p>In a post on X, an account the Daily Mail presumed to be that of the shooter wrote, &ldquo;Keep bashing us, but do not wonder why we Go BESERK.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Just hours after the shooting, a woman who said she was Dorgan&rsquo;s daughter said he &ldquo;has mental health issues.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He shot my family, and he&rsquo;s dead now,&rdquo; she said.<\/p>\n<p>The Daily Mail noted that Dorgan&rsquo;s ex-wife, Rhonda, who was killed in the shooting, said her husband had &ldquo;narcissistic and personality disorder traits.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Dorgan appears to be only one of several <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >prominent transgender-identifying school shooters<\/a> in North America in only three years.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Audrey Hale, a female who identified as a male, killed six at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, before killing herself in March of 2023.<\/p>\n<p>In August of 2025, two children were killed during a mass shooting inside the Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis as students of the Annunciation Catholic School were attending a school-wide Mass to mark the opening of the academic year. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/npr-host-issues-clarification-senate-dem-refers-catholic-school-shooter-male-unclear-time\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Robert Westman<\/a>, a transgender-identifying male who had his name legally changed to Robin, was responsible for that shooting.<\/p>\n<p>A 2025 analysis of planned or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-canada-mass-shooters-uncle-confirms-he-was-trans-according-to-report-10-dead-at-least-25-others-injured\/\" title=\"BREAKING: Canada Mass Shooter&#039;s Uncle Confirms He Was Trans According to Report - 10 Dead, at Least 25 Others Injured\">successfully executed mass school shootings<\/a> by The Western Journal in the aftermath of the Minneapolis incident found that roughly 40 percent of them since 2020 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/deep-dive-since-2020-roughly-40-successful-school-shooters-trans-trans-suspected-data-shows\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">involved transgender-identifying suspects<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ]; 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( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A week after a mass shooting in Canada rekindled concerns about violence linked to transgender people, another incident involving a transgender individual occurred, though it wasn\u2019t the main headline. NBC News reported that around 2:30 p.m. on Monday, a shooting at a high school hockey game in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, left two people dead and three injured. The shooter died by suicide. Police identified the suspect as Robert Dorgan, who also used the name Roberta Esposito. Officials said it appeared to be a targeted event, possibly tied to a family dispute, with the shooter allegedly entering the arena to watch a relative play.<\/p>\n<p>The reporting around transgender shooters is often cautious or evolves over time. The piece notes that outlets have sometimes described suspects using gendered language or delayed the disclosure of gender identity. It references other cases, such as a transgender-identified teen in Canada and a 2023 Nashville shooting by Audrey Hale, as well as a 2025 Minneapolis incident linked to a transgender-identifying male who changed his name to Robin. A 2025 analysis cited by The Western Journal suggested that a notable share of planned or completed mass school shootings since 2020 involved transgender-identifying suspects. If you want this rewritten in a shorter or more neutral tone, I can adjust it<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2570773,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-02-17T132746.084.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[11472,32747,35465,73976,4019],"class_list":["post-2570772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-background","tag-mass-shooting","tag-nbc-news","tag-roberta","tag-transgender"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-02-17T132746.084.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2570772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2570772"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2570772\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2570777,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2570772\/revisions\/2570777"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2570773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2570772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2570772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2570772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}