Hero tackled trans Rhode Island shooter: 'I was holding him down with my body'

The man who heroically tackled the transgender-identifying shooter during a high school hockey game in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, told his wife to run before he “went for the gun” to stop the suspect. Michael Black was sitting in the bleachers watching his friend’s son play when shots broke out inside the arena.

Black told WJAR, "As I was watching the game, I heard a pop, pop. And I thought they were balloons, I thought they were big balloons. And the noise was right in front of me. I looked, and I saw, and heard another pop, and recognized there wasn’t any balloons there, and thought that there was something wrong."

Black then told his wife and friend to run while he remained in the bleachers and moved toward the gunman. "I kind of waited and as soon as I saw a clear path, I got on the third level step and he was on the one and a half, and I just jumped across and went for the gun. I wanted to grab the gun. And what had happened was, my hand got caught in the sliding chamber and he shot, and my hand got caught and I was holding him down with my body."

He said at that point others jumped in to help. "They're trying to tackle him. And then he fell down, and he fell right towards me. So he was on his back," Black told WCVB, adding that additional loaded magazines fell out of the possession of the shooter when he was tackled. The shooter then retrieved a second gun and shot himself.

In response to the altercation, Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves said, "A good Samaritan stepped in and interjected in the scene, and that's probably what led to a swift end of this tragic event.”

Black rejected being called a hero, noting how others also intervened. "That’s not the right definition for me," he said. "There’s heroes in my life, and I would definitely not put that definition towards myself."

The shooting occurred on Monday during a hockey game at Dennis M. Lynch Arena. Authorities identified the shooter as 56-year-old Robert Dorgan, who targeted his family members seated in the bleachers during his son’s senior game night. Police said Dorgan shot and killed his ex-wife, Rhonda Dorgan, and his son before turning the gun on himself. His ex-wife’s parents were also shot and remain in critical condition, as well as a family friend. 

Dorga identified as transgender, having transitioned in 2020 and changed his name. He was reportedly wearing female clothes at the time of the shooting.