Patrons at New Hampshire restaurant shooting prevented worse tragedy
with selfless acts, AG says
[September 22, 2025]
By MICHAEL CASEY and PATRICK WHITTLE
NASHUA, N.H. (AP) — Patrons at a restaurant acted quickly and selflessly
to stop a gunman who opened fire while a wedding was taking place at a
New Hampshire country club, averting a worse tragedy, authorities said
Sunday.
One person was killed and two others were wounded by gunfire Saturday
night before a suspect was taken into custody in a nearby neighborhood
not long after the shooting, authorities said.
The gunfire killed Robert DeCesare Jr., 59, at Sky Meadow Country Club
in Nashua, said New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella and Nashua
Police Chief Kevin Rourke. They said the suspect was Hunter Nadeau, 23,
of Nashua, and that he had been arrested and charged with one count of
second-degree murder for knowingly shooting DeCesare.
Nadeau was a former employee of the club, Formella said, adding that
Nadeau made a number of statements during the shooting and appeared to
be attempting to cause chaos in the moment as opposed to showing a
hate-based motivation. Witnesses reported that Nadeau said “Free
Palestine” during the confusion.
Some witnesses said someone struck Nadeau with a chair in an attempt to
subdue him. Formella cited “selfless acts of courage by the patrons in
the restaurant who put aside care for their own safety and worked to
intervene and stop the shooter.”
The shooting happened adjacent to a wedding that was taking place at the
club. 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 working to determine a motive, Formella said. Police
did not immediately respond to a question about whether Nadeau is
represented by an attorney, and attempts to reach family members of
Nadeau were not immediately successful. 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.
One of the surviving gunshot victims was an employee and the other was a
patron, Formella said. The employee is hospitalized in critical but
stable condition while the other victim's status is unknown, Formella
said. He said at least four other people at the scene suffered
non-gunshot wounds that were not expected to be life threatening.
In addition to the three gunshot victims, others suffered injuries
including lacerations, a broken hand and blunt force trauma, Nashua Fire
Rescue said Sunday. The agency said it assisted about 100 people from
the scene to a nearby firehouse, mostly on foot.
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."
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This 2024 photo released by Charlene DeCesare, shows Robert DeCesare
Jr. at his home in Nashua, N.H. (Charlene DeCesare via AP)
Nashua is about 45 miles (70 kilometers) northwest of Boston, just
across the Massachusetts border.
Victim's widow speaks out
Charlene DeCesare, the widow of Robert DeCesare, said in an email that
she was “unbelievably traumatized” and was focusing on caring for the
couple's children in the aftermath of the shootings.
“Our lives are forever changed in one moment that would be senseless
except for the belief that Rob was trying to protect me and my daughter,
and maybe others there too. In our hearts, he’s a hero,” she said.
Charlene DeCesare said in a subsequent email that she and her daughter
were closest to the shooter when he walked into the room and that he
appeared to target a restaurant employee. “My husband got caught in the
fire trying to protect us,” she said.
She said her husband loved golf, poker and pickleball and was loved by
his family and community. She also asked that the public “beware the
speculation and utter nonsense that is being posted about what happened
and why” and said it was “only making it harder for everyone involved,
including the police who are trying to do their job.”
Witnesses 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 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 said. “All of a sudden heard
‘Gun!’ Chaos, screaming, and then running.”
Emily Ernst 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.”
Tom Bartelson of Pepperell, Massachusetts, described a chaotic scene
that unfolded near his nephew’s wedding.
“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.”
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