The Coalition's Statement on the Shooting in Pawtucket, Rhode Island
- Feb 23
- 2 min read
BOSTON (February 18, 2026) — For the second time in just over two months, our neighbors in Rhode Island have experienced a horrific mass shooting. On Monday, a shooter at a high school hockey tournament killed their ex-wife and son, injured three others, and then turned the gun on themselves. Our young people should be able to attend a sports tournament without fear of being shot.
Media outlets have called the shooting a result of a “family dispute”— we call it what it is, domestic violence. We know that the combination of domestic violence and easy access to guns is a profoundly lethal one. In Massachusetts, we have seen multiple domestic violence murder/suicides in recent years, with at least six such incidents since January of 2025. Domestic violence, suicide, and guns are not private issues, but public safety crises that often spill into community spaces.
We are also appalled about the truly hateful rhetoric we have seen in the aftermath of this shooting. The alleged shooter’s gender identity has become the subject of vitriolic reporting in some news outlets and in public discourse, discourse that in no way actually addresses root causes of gun violence or promotes safety. As we mourn the lives lost on Monday, we also must speak out about the hateful words being directed at the transgender and non-binary community.
Being trans is not a root cause of gun violence—nor is it a mental illness. Trans people are far less likely than the general population to commit gun violence, with fewer than 0.1% of U.S. mass shootings involving confirmed transgender shooters. In fact, trans people are disproportionately more likely to be the victims of gun violence, with the rate of violent victimization against transgender people being 2.5x higher than that of cisgender people. We must talk about gun violence based on facts and data, and challenge harmful falsehoods when entire communities are demonized because of the actions of one person.
We also know that many schools were at this tournament, and that many teens, families, coaches, and staff both witnessed the shooting and had to flee for their safety. We cannot underestimate the traumatic impact of witnessing a shooting. While they may have escaped physically unharmed, the trauma of the incident may last a lifetime.
And again, we must be vigilant and ready to respond to the impact this shooting will have on transgender people in Rhode Island, New England, and throughout the United States. It is a painful irony that the hateful rhetoric directed at the trans community as a result of this shooting will do nothing to make any of us safer from gun violence, but may put other trans people at even higher risk. Hateful rhetoric only inspires hateful actions. This is particularly terrifying given the ubiquitous presence of guns in this country.
We are devastated by Monday’s shooting. And as we feel the sorrow, we must also declare in no uncertain terms the data, facts, and core values that will move us towards a safer society, not put entire communities at greater risk.
Sources:
1 GLAAD. Fact Sheet: Debunking “Trans Terrorism” and Other False Claims in High-Profile Crimes. GLAAD; 2025 Sep 15. Available from: https://glaad.org/debunking-trans-terrorism/
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