The slain victim of Saturday’s country-club shooting in New Hampshire threw himself in front of his wife and daughter to save them from the deranged gunman, his mother has revealed.
Robert DeCesare, 59, was having dinner at a wedding with his family at the Sky Meadow Country Club in Nashua when police say 23-year-old Hunter Nadeau stormed the building with a handgun.
“[Nadeau] kicked the door open, and Rob just went right for him and protected his family,” DeCesare’s mother, Evie O’Rourke, told WMUR.
Two more people were shot and wounded by Nadeau, while others were hurt as they fled the carnage, authorities said.
More than 100 people were at Sky Meadow at the time.
A witness said it appeared DeCesare was targeted, although cops have not confirmed that, nor offered a motive for the attack. The bystander said Nadeau yelled, “Free Palestine!” during the shooting.
DeCesare’s mother said she still can’t fathom that her son is dead.
“It’s so shocking that we just can’t believe it. We think everybody’s lying. This can’t have happened. They were just enjoying a meal at their country club, and in comes the guy, shot the maître d, and it was right in front of him. And I guess he died right there,” she said.
“His thought was to take care of his family. And his daughter’s getting married in six weeks, so it’s going to be very tough,” the victim’s grieving mother said.
“We don’t know any information more about it other than they have arrested [Nadeau], but boy, is [Robert] going to be missed. He’s just a great guy,” she said.
Nadeau was detained at the scene. He has no known connection with the victim, although witnesses said that it appeared that he was targeting DeCesare.
“It looked like a target, that he was going right for this person. I feel terrible for [DeCesare],” witness Tom Bartelson told WMUR, adding that the shooter yelled pro-Palestinian slogans during the shooting.
“He just came out and said, ‘The children are safe!’ and, ‘Free Palestine!’ ” Bartelson added.
An SUV matching Nadeau’s possible vehicle, a Toyota RAV4, was seen being towed away close to Sky Meadow on Saturday night.
No official motive has yet been given by the attorney general’s office.
Nadeau has been charged with second-degree murder and is set to be arraigned Monday.
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