New York Post, by Chris Nesi and Caitlin McCormack: A father gunned down his wife and three kids in the stands at a high school hockey tournament in Rhode Island Monday, according to reports — sending the crowd screaming and fleeing for the exits in a panic.
Two people were killed, including a little girl, and three others are in critical condition at a hospital after the gunfire erupted at Lynch Arena in Pawtucket around 2:30 p.m., according to cops.
The shooter is also dead.
The arena is home ice for the Johnson and Wales Wildcats hockey team, and was hosting matches with several local schools at the time.
A livestream of the hockey match captured the moment spectators and players dove to the floor as approximately 11 gunshots rang out.
Many players on the bench scrambled as they pushed to squeeze out of the box, with some ditching their skates in the process. Others vaulted over the barrier surrounding the rink and headed straight for the locker room, according to the harrowing video.
A hero bystander disarmed the gunman, but he had another weapon, according to witnesses.
A source told Fox News that the gunman shot his wife and their three children before turning the gun on himself.
Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves confirmed that authorities were investigating the shooting as a possible “family dispute,” but didn’t confirm the victims’ relationship to the gunman.
One victim, believed to be a young girl, was found dead inside the arena with the shooter. Another person died at the hospital, and the three remaining victims are all in critical condition, Goncalves said.
The mayor’s office said that authorities aren’t searching for any additional suspects, according to a statement obtained by WJAR.
Students from Coventry, Johnston, North Providence and North Smithfield high schools were all participating in games with St. Raphael Academy and Providence Country Day School when the shooting occurred, as reported by WJAR.
An employee at a nearby Walgreens told WPRI that people came streaming into the store following the shooting to report the incident.
The employee said staffers were instructed to close the store and evacuate the building. People then hid inside the store as a staff member called 911.
Branden Mello, a local sports editor, said that one father at the game wrestled a gun out of the shooter’s hands, but they still “had a second weapon.”
St. Raphael Academy told WJAR that they “have been told none of our [school] family was injured” in the shooting.
Coventry’s superintendent also confirmed that all of the town’s students were accounted for.
Johnston Public Schools told the outlet that its sole student-athlete participating in the tourney and a spectator were both safe.
They added that no other Johnston students were injured, but only “to the best of our knowledge.”
Prophetic Link:
“The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.” Genesis 6:11
“And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.” Luke 17:26
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