No bail for young man charged with murder in deadly shooting at New Hampshire country club

NASHUA, N.H. — A man charged with second-degree murder in connection with a deadly shooting at a country club restaurant in New Hampshire over the weekend was ordered held without bail after a brief initial court appearance on Monday afternoon.

Hunter Nadeau, 23, of Nashua, appeared by video from jail wearing a green smock and spoke only to answer a judge’s questions. He waived his arraignment, did not enter a plea, and was ordered held without bail.

Nadeau, a former employee of the Sky Meadow Country Club in Nashua, allegedly entered Prime Steakhouse on and shot the manager in the face before opening fire on two others inside, claiming the life of 59-year-old Robert Steven DeCesare and wounding two other people. A wedding was also taking place on the property.

Charlene DeCesare and her daughter, Makayla, were closest to him when her husband was shot, she told Boston 25 News.

Prosecutor, owner of NH country club where man was killed speak after suspect faces judge

Charlene recounted the horrifying moment when the alleged shooter opened fire. She said her husband stood with his hands in the air as Nadeau opened fire. She fell under the table while Makayla kicked open an emergency door to escape.

Witnesses told Charlene it appeared Robert was shielding his family from bullets.

“Knowing Robert, his goal was to save people,” she said.

Charlene also told Boston 25 that Makayla found a gun on the ground in the midst of the chaos and tossed it onto the restaurant’s balcony. It’s not clear if it’s the one that was used in the shooting.

Robert was beloved by many people, according to his wife.

“You’d be hard-pressed to find a man more loved, not only by his family but by his many groups of friends from golf, poker, and pickleball. I cannot say enough how grateful I am for the outpouring of support from our friends and community,” Charlene said. “The people of Sky Meadow have been beyond amazing, and exactly why we moved here. The stellar kindness and professionalism from everyone I have interacted with at Nashua PD and the AG have also been so appreciated.”

Robert’s mother, Evie, spoke to reporters, expressing the family’s grief.

“His wife is very much in shock because not only did she witness a brutal act, but he’s not coming home. My granddaughter is not going to have her dad walk her down the aisle in November,” Evie said.

Evie added, “Unfortunately, my granddaughter and daughter-in-law saw it all. I’m repeating their words. They saw him come in and shoot the manager. Then they heard a couple more shots. Rob got up, turned around, and was going to go at him, and he went down. They were under the table and saw his legs and the blood, and they ran for their life.”

Makayla was set to be married in five weeks.

In addition to the three gunshot victims, others suffered injuries, including lacerations, a broken hand, and blunt force trauma.

Nadeau made a number of statements during the shooting and appeared to be attempting to cause chaos in the moment, said New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella, who 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.”

One witness claimed Nadeau shouted “Free Palestine” during the incident, though Charlene said she did not hear him speak inside the restaurant and believes any statements were made while he was leaving.

Jolene Knisell was at the restaurant when the shooting happened.

“I heard someone scream, and somebody else shouted, ‘There’s a gun,’ and everybody just sort of started running,” Knisell said. “We ran up onto the golf course until we heard someone say, ‘Get off the course.’ We tried to hide in a few different places. We heard all of the sirens; it was chaos, absolute chaos.”

Boston 25 Reporter Michael Raimondi went to the condo complex where the suspect lived. Neighbors say Nadeau lived with his grandmother, was quiet and mostly kept to himself.

Neighbors say police surrounded the complex Saturday night. They were disturbed when they found out why. They were shocked to hear someone living in the same building was the suspect in the shooting that everyone in town was talking about over the weekend.

Boston 25 is working to find out the full name of the worker who was shot and airlifted to Mass General Hospital.

In addition to the manager and Robert DeCesare, a third person was shot. Their condition remains unknown.

Investigators were working to determine a motive, Formella said. Authorities said there is no known connection between Nadeau and DeCesare.

Additional charges against Nadeau were likely to come, prosecutors said Monday.

Nadeau is scheduled for a probable cause hearing in early October.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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