Man is arrested and charged in deadly New Hampshire country club shooting

NASHUA, N.H. (AP) — Witnesses say someone struck a gunman with a chair after the shooter said “free Palestine” and opened fire while a wedding was taking place in a New Hampshire country club.

One person was killed and two others were wounded by gunfire Saturday before the suspect was taken into custody, authorities said.

The person who died at the Sky Meadow Country Club in Nashua was a 59-year-old man identified as Robert Steven DeCesare, according to New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella and Nashua Police Chief Kevin Rourke.

Authorities identified the suspect as Hunter Nadeau, 23, and said he had been arrested and charged with one count of second-degree murder for knowingly shooting DeCesare.

Witnesses at the scene said the shootings took place in a restaurant adjacent to a wedding that was taking place. Tom Bartelson of Pepperell, Massachusetts, who was at the country club, described a chaotic scene that unfolded near his nephew’s wedding. He said he heard the shooter say “the children are safe” and “free Palestine” and appeared to be targeting someone.

“Getting together for a dance for the bride and groom and then all chaos went off,” he said. “We heard about six shots and everybody ducked for cover and next thing you know we’re rushed into safe spots and things like that.”

Wedding DJ Michael Homewood credited the chair strike with preventing an even worse shooting.

“He hit him over the head with a chair, and he probably saved a bunch of lives just doing that,” Homewood told WCVB-TV.

Motives of shooter still undetermined

Investigators were still working to determine a motive, New Hampshire Senior Assistant Attorney General Peter Hinckley said. Authorities said there is no known connection between Nadeau and DeCesare.

Authorities had initially thought there could be two shooters but later said there was only one.

“Additional charges likely will be brought, including for the additional shooting victims,” Formella and Rourke said in a statement. They said they expect Nadeau to be arraigned at the Ninth Circuit Court in Nashua on Monday.

In addition to three gunshot victims, others at the scene suffered injuries including lacerations, a broken hand and blunt force trauma, Nashua Fire Rescue said Sunday.

Nashua Fire Rescue said it assisted about 100 people from the scene to a nearby firehouse, mostly on foot. Minor medical issues were handled at the scene, the agency said.

Later, Nashua Mayor Jim Donchess said he had faith in police to “get to the bottom of this and bring the perpetrator to justice.”

Gov. Kelly Ayotte said in a statement Sunday that the attorney general’s office will assist Nashua police with the investigation and that she and her husband were “praying for the victims and their families.”

Nashua is about 45 miles (70 kilometers) northwest of Boston, just across the Massachusetts border.

Witness describe chaotic scene

The mother of DeCesare, the man who was killed, had earlier described not being able to find her son after he was shot.

“He went down. My daughter-in-law and granddaughter escaped ... They saw my son go down and they saw blood,” said Evie O’Rourke of Salem, New Hampshire.

Sophie Flabouris, another witness who was at the scene, told WCVB-TV that someone hit the suspect over the head with a chair to subdue him. Flabouris said the suspect then fled the scene.

“We had just gathered around the dance floor. We were about to do a Greek smashing of the plates and throwing the dollar bills. The bride had just come up to me and gave me the plates to say, ‘All right, you give this to my husband.’ And all of a sudden we heard ‘pop, pop, pop, pop, pop.’ Heard five shots,” Flabouris told WCVB-TV. “All of a sudden heard ‘Gun!’ Chaos, screaming, and then running.”

Emily Ernst, who was at the scene, said she saw a gunman in all black.

“He had a mask on. We just saw him raise the gun and then we ran,” Ernst said. “I ran through the kitchen for my life.”

Bartelson said some people dropped to the ground and attempted to get away from the scene. There was a lot of panic, he said.

“We were trying to keep family members safe,” he said. “Keep everybody down and try to find safe spots.”

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This story corrects spelling of name of DJ’s name to Homewood in paragraphs 7 and 8

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Whittle reported from Scarborough, Maine.