Police respond to reports of multiple people shot at a Rhode Island hockey rink

By Canadian Press on February 16, 2026.

PAWTUCKET, R.I. (AP) — Police are responding to reports of multiple people hurt in a shooting at a Rhode Island ice rink where a youth hockey game was scheduled.

Little detail was immediately available about the shooting Monday afternoon at Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, a few miles outside Providence.

Outside the arena, tearful families and high school hockey players still in uniform could be seen hugging before they boarded a bus to leave the area. Roads surrounding the arena were shut down as a heavy police presence remained and helicopters flew overhead.

Messages seeking comment were left for Pawtucket police and a spokesperson for the city’s mayor. An email message left for a spokesperson with a local hospital also was not immediately returned.

Kimberlee Kruesi, The Associated Press

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