PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WPRI) — When a man turned a gun on his family at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket on Monday and started shooting, several people in the stands jumped into action to try and save lives. Ryan Cordeiro was one of those good Samaritans.
Cordeiro’s son is a senior who was playing in the hockey game between Blackstone Valley Schools and the Johnston-Coventry co-op team. The father spoke to 12 News on Thursday and recounted hearing popping noises and then seeing other people trying to subdue the gunman.
“I didn’t even think, I just reacted just, you know? I had 12 family members behind me,” Cordeiro explained. “I came from the top to get my weight, to push them down to the ground.”
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The shooter was later identified as Robert Dorgan, who also went by the name Roberta Esposito. The 56-year-old was the father of another hockey player who was on the ice that afternoon…