New York (EFE).- At least three people were killed and three others were injured on Monday in a shooting that occurred during a hockey game at an ice rink in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States, where the attacker also died, according to reports from authorities and local media.
According to the media outlet WJAR, citing the mayor’s office, one of the deceased is a girl, and the other has not been identified.
At a press conference, Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves said that the three people hospitalized are in critical condition and that the second victim died at the hospital.
Goncalves corroborated initial reports suggesting that the shooting had a «target» and may have stemmed from a «family dispute,» however, she did not state whether the victims were related to the assailant or their ages.
CNN, citing police sources, reported that the shooting appeared to stem from a domestic dispute and that the shooter targeted members of his own family.
Goncalves confirmed that the shooting suspect is deceased and suggested that he committed suicide with the weapon.
Bob DaSilva, the mayor of nearby East Providence, published a message of condolence on Facebook, reporting that a girl had died and that the shooter apparently also took his own life.
The shooting occurred after 3:00 pm local time during a high school hockey game at the Lynch Arena indoor ice rink. The arena was hosting a school tournament involving at least five local teams.
Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee posted on X that authorities are investigating the shooting and that he is in contact with Mayor Donald Grebien, as well as state and local police forces.
The Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives is assisting in the investigation, and several police personnel have been dispatched to the stadium, according to images published on social media.
Joseph Soho, the superintendent of North Providence public schools in the capital of Rhode Island, told the Providence Journal that all students involved in the game are safe. EFE
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