On a winter's day in 1987, the life of Nicarno Rodriquez, a 49-year-old Hispanic male, was tragically cut short in a spree of violence that spanned two New Hampshire communities. On December 30th, a man named Rafael Rodriguez, 38, embarked on a shooting rampage that would leave three men dead and two others wounded before he himself was fatally shot by police.
The violent chain of events unfolded across Nashua and Londonderry, creating a day of terror and confusion.
Nicarno Rodriquez was at his job as a shipping supervisor at an apple orchard warehouse in Londonderry when the gunman, who was reportedly a distant relative, arrived. Inside the warehouse, Rafael Rodriguez opened fire, killing Nicarno and wounding another man, Julio Otero Rivera. Prior to this, the shooter had already killed two other men, Richard Proulx and Jesus Santos, in separate incidents in Nashua. After the warehouse shooting, he returned to Nashua and shot another man, Jose Soto.
The rampage concluded at a gas station in Nashua. By this time, authorities had identified Rafael Rodriguez as the suspect. When an officer attempted to arrest him, the gunman fired his revolver twice at the officer. The officer, who was unharmed, returned fire, killing Rodriguez.
In the aftermath, investigators searched for a motive behind the senseless violence. While there was no clear connection established between the shooter and most of his victims, authorities suspected the shootings might have been drug-related, given Rafael Rodriguez's history of arrests on drug charges. However, no drugs were found on him or at the various crime scenes, leaving the community to grapple with the unanswered questions behind the deadly spree. The case was considered solved as the primary suspect was deceased.
