Pawtucket rink shooter’s son set fire to Black church in North Providence in 2024

Two years before Robert Dorgan opened fire at a high school hockey game in Pawtucket, the shooter’s son set fires at a predominantly Black church in North Providence.

Robert Dorgan, who also used the name Roberta Esposito, was the biological father of Kevin Colantonio, Target 12 confirmed through multiple people with direct knowledge of the relationship. He was one of six children Dorgan had with three different women.

Colantonio was sentenced last year to more than six years in prison for using gasoline to set multiple fires along the exterior of Shiloh Gospel Temple on Charles Street in February 2024.

The church was empty at the time and no one was injured. Court documents said the fire caused “significant damage” to the church, which had a 100-person congregation mostly made up of Black members at the time of the fire.

Police seized notebooks inside Colantonio’s home that were filled with hateful writings, including one entry where he wrote, “gun everyone down that isn’t white, if one is white spread the gospel. Always give our bloodline a chance.”

Read more: WPRI