NASHUA, N.H. (AP) — A gunman opened fire in a New Hampshire country club on Saturday, killing one person and wounding several others, authorities said.
The person who died at the Sky Meadow Country Club in Nashua was an adult male, according to New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella and Nashua Police Chief Kevin Rourke.
Authorities said the suspect, who was detained at the scene, was also an adult male, and earlier reports of two shooters were mistaken. Police said there was no further danger
to the public.
Investigators were still working to determine a motive, New Hampshire Senior Assistant Attorney General Peter Hinckley said.
Information on the wounded victims' conditions was not immediately available.
Tom Bartelson of Pepperell, Massachusetts, who was at the country club, described a chaotic scene that unfolded near his nephew's wedding. He said he heard the shooter say “the children are safe” and “free Palestine” and appeared to be targeting someone.
“Getting together for a dance for the bride and groom and then all chaos went off,” he said. “We heard about six shots and everybody ducked for cover and next thing you know we’re rushed into safe spots and things like that.”
He said some people dropped to the ground and attempted to get away from the scene. There was a lot of panic, he said.
“We were trying to keep family members safe,” he said. “Keep everybody down and try to find safe spots.”
Another person who was at the scene, Evie O’Rourke of Salem, New Hampshire, said she was still trying to find her son, Robert Decesare of Nashua, in the aftermath of the shooting.
“We don’t know where he is. He went down. My daughter in law and granddaughter escaped ... They saw my son go down and they saw blood, and we can’t find him,” she said.
Emily Ernst, who was at the scene, said she saw a gunman in all black.
“He had a mask on. We just saw him raise the gun and then we ran,” Ernst said. “I ran through the kitchen for my life.”
Aerial video from WMUR-TV showed multiple emergency responders heading to the scene. Later, Nashua Mayor Jim Donchess said he had faith in police to “get to the bottom of this and bring the perpetrator to justice.”
He added: “I think the message is for every community out there is that no matter how unlikely it seems it can happen where you live.”
U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander said in a statement that she was “closely monitoring the tragic reports of a shooting tonight at Sky Meadow Country Club in Nashua” and that her heart was with the victims, their families and the community.
Nashua is about 45 miles (70 kilometers) northwest of Boston, just across the Massachusetts border.
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Whittle reported from Scarborough, Maine.
