Sean Rivera Identified as Suspect in Woonsocket Double Murder-Suicide That Killed Kimberly Pieranunzi and Donald Roderick [PHOTOS]

Authorities in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, have identified Sean Rivera, 24, as the man responsible for a tragic double murder-suicide that claimed the lives of Kimberly Pieranunzi and Donald Roderick on Monday night. Police say Rivera shot the couple—his girlfriend’s mother and her boyfriend—before turning the gun on himself inside their home.

Officers responded to the residence at 411 Rathbun Street just before 7 p.m. after receiving multiple reports of gunfire. When they arrived, they found three people with gunshot wounds and a .380 caliber firearm that was later discovered to have been stolen from Maine, according to investigators. Police confirmed that the violence was confined to the home and that there is no ongoing threat to the public.

Kimberly Pieranunzi and Donald Roderick

Witnesses described a scene of chaos and terror. Dominique Domingo, an employee at the Samaritan Smoke Shop, said a teenage girl ran into the store seeking help moments after the shooting. “She’s yelling there’s a shooting, my mom, all kinds of stuff like that. She’s scared. She’s like, ‘Hide me,’” Domingo recalled. “She had blood all over her hands and all over her clothes.”

Authorities believe Rivera killed the victims during a domestic dispute before taking his own life. The tragedy has left the quiet Woonsocket neighborhood shaken and has reignited discussions about the warning signs of domestic violence.

Kimberly Pieranunzi, one of the victims, was a nursing student at the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI), where she was just weeks away from graduating from the LPN-to-RN program in December. In a statement to the CCRI community, President Rosemary Costigan, Ph.D., RN, described Pieranunzi as a “dedicated student” whose death has been “deeply felt across our CCRI community, especially within our nursing program family.”

Sean Rivera Identified as Suspect in Woonsocket Double Murder-Suicide That Killed Kimberly Pieranunzi and Donald Roderick

“To Kimberly’s family, friends, classmates, and faculty, we extend our deepest condolences,” Costigan wrote. “Kimberly’s commitment to nursing and her bright future in service to others will not be forgotten. May we honor her memory by continuing to care for one another with the same kindness and empathy she brought to our community.”

The incident serves as a sobering reminder of the dangers of domestic violence, which continues to claim lives across the country.

Kimberly Pieranunzi and Donald Roderick

If you or someone you know may be in danger, help is available. The National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential, 24/7 support.

For local assistance:
Rhode Island: Helpline RI (800-494-8100), Blackstone Valley Advocacy Center (800-494-8100), Elizabeth Buffum Chace Center (401-738-1700), Women’s Resource Center (401-846-5263), Crossroads RI (401-861-2760), DVRC of South County (401-782-3990).
Massachusetts: SafeLink (877-785-2020), SSTAR Women’s Center (508-675-0087), The Women’s Center (508-999-6636), New Hope (800-323-HOPE), Health Imperatives (508-588-TALK), Jane Doe Inc. (617-248-0922).