Heroic bystander recounts staring into eyes of hockey rink shooter during life or death struggle
A bystander’s split-second decision to tackle a shooter at a Rhode Island high school hockey game is being lauded for saving countless lives.
Michael Black was watching the game in Pawtucket when authorities say Robert Dorgan, who also goes by the name Roberta Esposito, opened fire. Black described the harrowing moment he chose to run toward the danger.
"I told my wife to ‘run, run.’ She was sitting next to me with some friends and she got out and I stayed," Black said on "Fox & Friends" Thursday.
Black was attending the game with friends when he heard several gunshots, which he first believed to be balloons popping. He then saw someone point a gun at a nearby family.
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"I got a clear angle at the shooter and I jumped on the fourth step and leaped at him with my left hand," said Black.
Black described jamming his hand into the gun to stop it from firing. Other bystanders, whom he called his "heroes," jumped in to help subdue the suspect, but he managed to reach for a second gun.
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"He fell to my feet, and we were staring right at each other. He had a very concerned look on his face and reached into his left pocket and pulled out another gun and then shot himself," he added.
Authorities confirmed the gunman’s ex-wife and son were killed in the attack and that the suspect died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. At least three others were injured in the attack.
Black said he injured his hand and needed nine stitches, but noted that authorities arrived within minutes. He said that his son had almost come to the game with him and his wife, and said he was thankful he wasn’t there during the incident.
"My wife even mentioned that she was concerned that if my son saw me go that direction, he would have went that way also," said Black.
Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves confirmed that the actions of a "good Samaritan" helped lead to the swift end of the shooting.