A New Hampshire man was arrested following a deadly shooting at a Nashua, NH, country club on Saturday, where he allegedly killed one person and injured two others while shouting “Free Palestine” and other slogans.
Authorities believe the slogans were an attempt to sow chaos rather than an indication of the true motive.
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On Saturday night, Hunter Nadeau, 23, of Nashua, allegedly opened fire at Nashua’s Sky Meadow Country Club while a wedding was being held. Nadeau reportedly entered the country club’s restaurant area, shot and severely injured an employee, and shot two restaurant patrons, killing Steven DeCesare, 59.
The employee was reportedly shot in the face and was airlifted to a Boston hospital, where he is in critical but stable condition.
During the chaos, one bystander reportedly struck Nadeau with a chair, causing him to bleed from a head wound and leading him to flee.
Initial police and media reports suggested that there were two shooters, but a review of security footage led police to revise their assessment and identify only a single perpetrator.
According to one witness, Nadeau shouted, “The children are safe” and “Free Palestine” while carrying out the alleged attack.
Another witness recounted that the shooter was masked and wearing all black.
Despite Nadeau’s alleged shouts, NH Attorney General John Formella does not believe that he was ideologically motivated. Instead, he suggested that the political chant, often shouted by leftists opposed to U.S. support for Israel, was an attempt to sow chaos.
“Mr. Nadeau made a number of statements during the event. There’s no evidence this was motivated by a hate-based motivation. More likely, Mr. Nadeau was trying to make a number of different statements to create chaos in the moment,” Formella said.
He claimed that Nadeau was making a variety of different statements. Authorities also do not believe that Nadeau had any previous contact with DeCesare.
Notably, Formella revealed that Nadeau was a former employee of the country club. He also praised the restaurant patrons who confronted the alleged shooter.
Nashua Police Chief Kevin Rourke told reporters that the alleged shooter was arrested within 30 minutes of the incident when he was found in a nearby neighborhood.
He currently faces charges for second-degree murder, with more expected to follow.
