The family of a man who was shot dead at a New Hampshire country club on Saturday has said he “took a bullet for his family” and lost his life protecting his wife and daughter.
Robert Steven DeCesare, 59, was fatally shot at the Sky Meadow Country Club in Nashua, 45 minutes northwest of Boston, when former employee Hunter Nadeau, 23, opened fire during a wedding celebration.
Evie O’Rourke, of Salem, New Hampshire, told NBC Boston: “He turned around and stood up and took a bullet for his family. And I’m very proud of him.”
“They saw the guy come in and shoot the manager and another couple of shots, then Rob stood up, turned around the guy was right there,” she said. “He went down and they saw his legs under the table and blood… and they had to run for their life.”
Witnesses described seeing someone hit the suspect with a chair, although it’s unclear whether that was DeCesare.
Charlene DeCesare, DeCesare’s widow, told the Associated Press in an email: “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.”
DeCesare was having dinner at the club to discuss his daughter’s forthcoming wedding. Charlene DeCesare said she and her daughter were closest to the shooter when he walked into the room and appeared to target a restaurant employee — her husband “got caught in the fire trying to protect us,” she said.
The daughter’s wedding was scheduled for November. “She’ll be getting married without her dad. He was a great guy, an awesome husband, hard worker, a great son,” O’Rourke told NBC Boston.
Police said the attack lasted under a minute before the alleged shooter threatened other guests, left the building and was arrested.
Nadeau was subsequently charged with second-degree murder and is expected to be arraigned on Monday. It is not clear whether the suspect has legal representation.
The autopsy of DeCesare is also scheduled for Monday.
Two other people were shot in the attack and Nadeau will likely face more charges related to the other victims, police said. Police have yet to announce a motive for the shooting — nor have they confirmed witness reports that the suspect shouted “Free Palestine” during the attack.
On these reports, DeCesare told the AP that people should “beware the speculation and utter nonsense that is being posted about what happened and why” which was “only making it harder for everyone involved, including the police who are trying to do their job.”
The owner of the Sky Meadow Country Club, Rob Parsons, said in a statement Sunday that DeCesare was a “hero” and said he was profoundly grateful for the courageous acts of patrons and employees who acted to stop further tragedy.
“This was the heinous act of a coward who will be held to account for what he did,” Parsons said of the alleged perpetrator.
Parsons also said that the two people who were shot, one guest and one employee, were recovering.
Source link
