A wedding reception at a New Hampshire country club descended into horror Saturday evening when shots were fired in front of more than 100 guests, leaving one man dead and several others injured.
Authorities confirmed that 23-year-old Hunter Nadeau was taken into custody after the attack at Sky Meadow Country Club in Nashua.
Officials said Nadeau fatally shot 59-year-old Robert Steven DeCesare with a handgun while two others sustained gunshot wounds during the chaos.
Law enforcement clarified that despite initial confusion, only one gunman was involved.
The shooting began around 7:30 p.m., shattering what had been a night of celebration.
Witnesses described hearing the suspect shout “free Palestine” before opening fire.
One guest, Tom Bartelson of Pepperell, Massachusetts, said he was attending his nephew’s wedding when the commotion erupted.
“Getting together for a dance for the bride and groom and then all chaos went off,” Bartelson recalled.
“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.”
Bartelson added that it appeared the gunman was targeting a specific person.
“He looked like a target, that he was going right for this person. So, I feel terrible for him,” he told WMUR News.
Another guest, Sophie Flabouris, said the gunfire sounded like “pop, pop, pop, pop, pop” coming from a nearby restaurant.
“Some people ran out the door. Some people ran into the kitchen,” she told WCVB. “People ran all different directions.”
Michael Homewood said he witnessed the shooter cross the dance floor and move through the kitchen, where he allegedly taunted guests.
“He walked through the kitchen and went up to other guests and flipped them off and said various things and walked right out the back door of the kitchen,” Homewood said.
Police said the shooter’s rampage was cut short by a quick-thinking patron at the club’s restaurant, who struck him over the head with a chair.
The man told WHDH 7 News he initially mistook the noise for a balloon popping, but acted once he saw the weapon.
“I got up immediately and hit him in the head with a chair and another guy tackled him. When I hit him in the head with a chair, he dropped his gun and ran,” the witness recounted.
After the shots were fired, wedding attendees rushed from the reception hall, many of them confused about what had just unfolded.
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“It was nothing to do with the wedding,” the patron explained. “He just walked into the main entrance, he shot one, there’s two bullet casings in the hallway, and then he entered the restaurant and continued to shoot.”
Authorities reported that one of the gunshot victims was a staff member and the other a guest.
Attorney General John M. Formella said the employee remains in critical but stable condition, while the status of the second victim has not been confirmed.
Nashua Fire Rescue said at least four other people suffered non-gunshot injuries such as cuts, a broken hand, and blunt force trauma as crowds fled the scene.
Rescue teams escorted roughly 100 people to a nearby fire station, many of them walking there on foot.
Witnesses described chaotic scenes of guests sprinting in different directions as emergency responders flooded the area.
Following the attack with the chair, Nadeau fled the club but was tracked down by police in a neighborhood nearby.
Nashua Police Chief Kevin Rourke said the suspect was “cooperative” during his arrest, though it remains unclear if he still had a firearm at that time.
Nadeau now faces a second-degree murder charge and is scheduled to be arraigned Monday.
“Additional charges likely will be brought, including for the additional shooting victims,” Attorney General Formella confirmed.
New Hampshire Senior Assistant Attorney General Peter Hinckley said investigators are still piecing together a motive.
Formella added that Nadeau had been a former employee of the country club and made a series of statements during the attack that suggested he was seeking to cause chaos rather than acting out of hate.
