Did the Pawtucket shooter have mental health issues? Gunman’s daughter claims her father is ‘very sick’
Daughter of gunman who shot five people and killed two in a suspected ‘domestic dispute’ rhode island High School Hockey Championship said her father had various “mental health issues.” The woman, who did not give her name, told NewsCenter 5 as she left the Pawtucket Police Department, “My father was the shooter.”
“He shot my family and now he’s dead,” she said.
“He had mental health issues,” she further said, adding that her father was “very ill.”
Learn more | Pawtucket Lynch Arena shooting: Video captures chaos amid gunfire at boys hockey game and police response
The woman said she wasn’t sure who was dead and who was injured, but was heading to the hospital to get checked out.
What we know about the shooting
The incident occurred during a youth hockey game at Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, a few miles outside Providence.
Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves said at a news conference that the shooting was being investigated as a “domestic dispute.” While she did not reveal the shooter’s specific relationship to the victims, local reports said the shooter was a father who shot his wife and three children.
The gunman was found dead inside Lynch Arena with another victim. Police said another person died at the hospital and three others were in critical condition, the New York Post reported.
A little girl may have been among the dead, according to the Pawtucket mayor’s office.
Learn more | ‘Gunman in the stands’: First details emerge about Pawtucket rink shooting suspect
Shocking live broadcast footage exposed The man reportedly opened fire after moving from the back to the front of the stands. When about 11 shots were fired, players and spectators fell to the ground. Athletes on the ice rushed to the edge, seemingly trying to hide behind the guardrail, and rushed toward the locker room.
Others trapped on the benches hurried toward the exits, some of them throwing their skates into the box. From there, some students ran to a nearby Walgreens, where staff cordoned off the building and called authorities.
According to eyewitnesses, the father of one of the players Disarmed the gunman. However, he allegedly got hold of another weapon and fired again.
The arena included students from Coventry, Johnston, North Providence and North Smithfield high schools, as well as others from St. Raphael Academy and Providence Country Day School.
