By Dylan Azari & DeJaune Jones –
PAWTUCKET, R.I. — Two people are dead, including the suspect, and four victims were hospitalized after a shooting at an indoor ice rink in Rhode Island on Monday afternoon during a youth boys hockey game, according to reports.
The shooting was reported at Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, an indoor ice skating rink on Andrew D. Ferland Way. A 2 p.m. hockey game between Coventry and Blackstone Valley Schools was reportedly happening at the time.
Several people were shot at the arena during the game. The number of wounded was not immediately known, but the suspect in the broad daylight shooting was pronounced dead at the scene, WPRI reports.
Federal authorities are assisting in the response. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives urged the public to avoid the area as they worked alongside state and local police.
A large number of police officers were seen at the arena.
The superintendent of Coventry Public Schools issued a statement about “a serious reported incident at Lynch Arena … where our Boys Hockey team was playing.” The statement noted information was still coming in, and that “We have been informed that students are secured in multiple locations.”
It was not immediately confirmed how many people may have been injured beyond the four hospitalized or whether there were additional fatalities.
The arena is home ice for the Johnson & Wales Wildcats hockey team.
Pawtucket is located about 45 miles south of Boston.