Independent New Hampshire Journalism · Northfield, NHCorrection and update, Sept. 19, 2026, 2:24 p.m. EDT: This article, published Jan. 16, 2026, named the man killed as Robert DeCesare Jr., said the shooting disrupted a private event, described one of the wounded as a restaurant manager, said the indictment moved the case to first-degree murder “under alternate theories of liability,” and said patrons restrained the gunman with a stool until police arrived. The Concord Monitor identified the victim as Robert Steven DeCesare, 59; he was dining in the club’s restaurant; the two wounded were a man working at the club and a patron; the indictments charge alternative counts of first-degree and second-degree murder; and authorities said patrons intercepted the gunman, a man hit him with a chair, and he fled and was arrested about 30 minutes later. Those passages are corrected, a paragraph that cited no source for its claims is removed, and the article now records his lawyers’ September 2026 notice of an insanity defense and the June 2027 trial date. Hunter Nadeau is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
By Granite State Report
Concord, New Hampshire — A Nashua man has been indicted on first-degree murder, attempted murder, and multiple assault charges in connection with a September 2025 shooting in the restaurant at Sky Meadow Country Club in Nashua, Attorney General John Formella announced Jan. 15, 2026. (AP News)
Prosecutors allege that Hunter Nadeau, who was 23 at the time, opened fire in the club’s restaurant on Sept. 20, 2025, as a wedding reception took place nearby. Robert Steven DeCesare, 59, who was dining with his wife and daughter, was killed. Two other people were shot and wounded, a man who was working at the club and a patron, and four more were hurt while fleeing or intervening, according to authorities. (NHPR; Concord Monitor)
Nadeau was first charged with second-degree murder after his arrest. The Hillsborough County grand jury’s indictments charge him with alternative counts of purposeful first-degree murder and reckless second-degree murder in DeCesare’s death, two counts of attempted murder and two counts of first-degree assault. (Concord Monitor) In New Hampshire, a first-degree murder conviction carries a sentence of life without parole. (NHPR)
Authorities said there was no known connection between DeCesare and Nadeau, a former employee of the club who had not worked there for about a year. (Concord Monitor) According to his arrest affidavit, Nadeau told a Nashua detective after the shooting that he carried out the attack to “punish the wealthy because they were not helping the poor.” (Concord Monitor)
According to authorities, patrons in the restaurant helped intercept the gunman before he could fire more shots; the gunman then fled and was taken into custody in a nearby neighborhood about 30 minutes later. (NHPR) A witness said a man hit the gunman over the head with a chair, and DeCesare’s mother said her son was shot while protecting his wife and daughter. (CBS News)
In September 2026, Nadeau’s lawyers filed notice that they will argue he is not criminally responsible because, at the time, “he was suffering from a mental disease or defect.” Under New Hampshire law, the defense carries the burden of proving insanity. His jury trial is set for the weeks of June 14 and June 21, 2027. (Concord Monitor) Nadeau is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. Granite State Report covered the arrest in an earlier story.
This case remains a stark reminder that even in quieter corners of the Granite State, violence can erupt with devastating effect.
Corrections: Granite State Report corrects verified errors promptly and appends a dated note identifying what changed and when. The corrections policy and the corrections register are public, and correction notes are never removed.
