Man is arrested and charged in New Hampshire country club shooting
[September 22, 2025]
By MICHAEL CASEY and PATRICK WHITTLE
NASHUA, N.H. (AP) — A gunman opened fire in a New Hampshire country club
on Saturday as a wedding was taking place, killing one person and
wounding two others, 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, age 23, and said he
had been arrested and charged with one count of second-degree murder for
knowingly shooting DeCesare.
“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.
Authorities had initially thought there could be two shooters but later
said that was mistaken and there was only one. Police said there was no
further danger to the public.
Investigators were still working to determine a motive, New Hampshire
Senior Assistant Attorney General Peter Hinckley said.
Information on the wounded victims' conditions was not immediately
available.
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.”
He 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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An American Red Cross Disaster Relief van is parked outside a hotel
that is acting as a reunification center after a shooting at a
country club in Nashua, New Hampshire, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025. (AP
Photo/Michael Casey)
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,” the mother, Evie O’Rourke of
Salem, New Hampshire, said.
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.”
Aerial video from WMUR-TV showed multiple emergency responders
heading to the scene. Later, Nashua Mayor Jim Donchess said he had
faith in police to “get to the bottom of this and bring the
perpetrator to justice.”
He added: “I think the message is for every community out there is
that no matter how unlikely it seems it can happen where you live.”
U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander said in a statement that she was
“closely monitoring the tragic reports of a shooting tonight at Sky
Meadow Country Club in Nashua” and that her heart was with the
victims, their families and the community.
Nashua is about 45 miles (70 kilometers) northwest of Boston, just
across the Massachusetts border.
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Whittle reported from Scarborough, Maine.
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