One person is dead and several people were wounded during a shooting Saturday night at Sky Meadow Country Club in Nashua, New Hampshire, authorities said. A suspect was arrested and charged with murder, authorities announced Sunday morning.
The incident occurred at around 8 p.m. ET at the country club located on Mountain Laurels Drive in Nashua, about 45 miles northwest of Boston, Massachusetts. The shooting lasted under one minute, according to New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella.
Formella and Nashua Police Chief Kevin Rourke announced late Saturday night that an adult man was shot and killed and two other adults were shot and wounded. One of the victims was an employee who was working as a host for the wedding and received a gunshot wound to the face while they were in the hallway, officials said. They were med-flighted to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and are in critical but stable condition.
The other gunshot victim was a customer at the PRIME restaurant inside the country club, according to Formella. There is no update on their condition. At least four other people were injured during the shooting, including a broken hand, cuts and more, according to Curran.
Authorities identified the victim as 59-year-old Robert Steven DeCesare. Formella said that DeCesare was having dinner with his family at the restaurant. An autopsy will be performed on Monday.
The suspect, identified as 23-year-old Hunter Nadeau, was arrested and charged with one count of second-degree murder. Police found Nadeau within 30 minutes of the shooting in a nearby neighborhood, according to Rourke.
Formella said that Nadeau is a Nashua resident and was a former employee of Sky Meadow. He stopped working there roughly a year ago, but officials did not disclose whether he was fired or quit.
Office of the Attorney General
Additional charges will likely be brought, including for the additional shooting victims, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office said.
Authorities said there is no known connection between Nadeau and the victims. Officials said that they are working to determine his motive, but said the shooting was not a hate-motivated crime.
There were reports of statements that Nadeau made during the shooting, but Formella said that “the evidence leads us to believe that it is more likely that Mr. Nadeau simply tried to make a number of statements to create chaos in the moment.”
Police initially reported that two armed suspects had fled following the shooting and one had been detained. About an hour later, however, police said that after viewing surveillance footage, they believed there had been only one shooter and the person was in custody.
“Video surveillance has confirmed there was only one shooter and they are currently being detained. The scene is still an active investigation, but there is no further danger to the public,” Nashua police said.
Governor Kelly Ayotte has been briefed on the shooting, according to Formella.
Man hits gunman in head with chair
Witness Sophie Flabouris was at a wedding inside the country club. She said the shooting took place at the restaurant in the room next door.
She said that someone hit the shooter over the head with a chair. The bleeding suspect ran through the wedding reception and into the kitchen, Flabouris said.
“It was not nearly as tragic as it could’ve been,” Formella said. “I want to commend the selfless acts of courage by the patrons in the restaurant who again put aside care for their safety and worked to intervene and stop the shooter and keep this a much more contained event than it otherwise may have been.”
Flabouris said she hid under the table, then ran to safety in a nearby locker room.
“I first initially hid under the table with a tablecloth. Your next thought is, am I safe here? Am I a sitting duck? What’s going to happen? Is this guy going to come through? Is he going to be looking under tablecloths? Is he going to be shooting everyone in the room? You don’t know. It’s very scary to experience something like that.”
Nadaeu is expected to be arraigned at the Ninth Circuit Court around 1 p.m. in Nashua on Monday.
Sky Meadow Country Club
Sky Meadow is a private country club with a golf course, restaurants and a function hall.
“As a premier, private country club, we take great pride in offering a level of attention to detail that sets us apart from the rest,” the country club’s website reads. “Whether you’re on the golf course, attending a special event, enjoying live entertainment, or indulging in our exceptional dining options, you’ll experience the hallmarks of excellence that define Sky Meadow.”
Sky Meadow Country Club is located about five minutes over the Massachusetts border.
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