Several heroes emerged amid a horrific shooting Saturday at a Nashua, New Hampshire, country club, including one man who took a bullet for his family.
During a wedding Saturday evening at the Sky Meadow Country Club, 23-year-old Hunter Nadeau allegedly went on a shooting spree that left one man dead and two others injured. According to a witness, Tom Bartelson, the suspect allegedly shouted phrases like “the children are safe” and “Free Palestine.”
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. https://t.co/lSkYKNb8Uy
— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 22, 2025
Tragically, 59-year-old Robert Steven DeCesare was fatally shot. DeCesare’s mother, Evie O’Rourke, revealed that he heroically shielded his wife and daughter, sacrificing his life.
“He turned around and stood up and took a bullet for his family. And I’m very proud of him,” O’Rourke told NBC Boston. “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. He went down and they saw his legs under the table and blood … and they had to run for their life.”
“He was a great guy. He’s an awesome husband, a hard worker, a great son,” O’Rourke said. “He’s the one that we went to and we can’t do that anymore.” (Subscribe to MR. RIGHT, a free weekly newsletter about modern masculinity)
DeCesare’s wife also described her husband as a hero, an avid golfer, poker, and pickleball player, “loved by” his family and the community.
“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,” she said. (RELATED: MR. RIGHT: Justice For Iryna, Shame For The Men)
New Hampshire Attorney General John applauded “the 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,” which included not only DeCesare but a man who bravely confronted the shooter with a chair amid the chaos.
Wedding DJ Michael Homewood said the unknown man prevented the tragedy from becoming much worse.
“He hit him over the head with a chair, and he probably saved a bunch of lives just doing that,” Homewood told a local outlet.