At least two people have been killed and three wounded in a shooting at an ice rink in the northeastern US town of Pawtucket, with social media footage showing frightened teenagers fleeing the sound of gunshots.

“We have three deceased. The suspect, and then we have two victims, and then we have three at the hospital,” said Tina Goncalves, police chief in the Rhode Island community.

She added that initial investigations suggested the shooting was targeted and “may be a family dispute”.

No details were immediately shared on the identities of the victims, but Goncalves said the wounded were in “critical condition”.

Mass shootings are common in the United States, where lax gun control laws mean that access to weapons is relatively easy.

In 2025, there were more than 400 mass shootings in the United States, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which counts incidents where four or more people are shot or killed, not including the shooter.

Gun violence as a whole claimed at least 14,703 lives last year, not including suicides.

Monday’s shooting, which occurred at a high school ice hockey game, came two months after a mass shooting at Brown University, located just 5.6km away.

Footage shared on social media, which has not been verified by AFP, showed players, students and spectators at Pawtucket’s Dennis M Lynch Arena fleeing for cover as shots rang out over the indoor ice rink.

“After the gunshots, me and my teammates ran right to the locker room,” one witness, who was on the ice when the shots were fired, told local news station WJAR.

“We pressed against the door and tried to stay safe down in there.”

At least 12 shots can be heard on the social media footage, which appears to have been taken from a livestream of the game.

The teams initially continued playing, but as the staccato burst of gunfire continued, players fled to the edges of the rink or made a break for the exits, with spectators seen ducking for cover.

- Agence France-Presse