Story By: Lee Anne Denyer
HIGH POINT, N.C. —
Numerous investigations tied to an hours-long standoff in High Point that injured four police officers and left a couple dead are ongoing, according to officials.
“Everyone is healing, physically and mentally thankfully. Everyone is really doing great overall. All three of our officers have been released from the hospital and are at home healing,” said Lt. Matt Truitt, a spokesperson for the department.
While multiple agencies are trying to piece together what happened inside the home and why the psychological impact of the ordeal on the responding officers and two children inside the home is still being determined.
On Thursday night, High Point police responded to a home on West English Road and South Road after hearing gunshots, police said. Police said, after multiple attempts to contact the armed suspect, Josue Drumond-Cruz, officers attempted to go into the home when police said he fired at the officers.
“We’re just thankful that all of our officers are doing well and now we’re beginning the healing process from the inside out,” Truitt said. “We’ve had an extreme outpouring of support from the community.”
Truitt said the High Point Police Department has had an initial debrief with the individuals who were part of the approximately 12-hour ordeal. He said understanding the psychological impact of this kind of event is a long process for the department and that those who were heavily involved will meet with a mental health expert before coming back on duty.
Truitt said he had seen several of the officers who had been shot and that they were doing well. Three High Point officers were hurt in the standoff, as well as a member of the Greensboro Police Department.
Officers with the Greensboro Police Department Special Response Team assisted the call after being called in for mutual aid request from the High Point Police Department.
Greensboro police said during the standoff, the suspect continuously fired at members of law enforcement and two Greensboro police officers returned fire. During the exchange, the suspect was struck and killed. A Greensboro is recovering after being shot. The injuries were described as minor and not life-threatening.
Inside the home, police said, a woman had been dead for 8-10 hours before police reached her. The High Point Police Department identified the woman found dead inside the home as Blanca E. Cadavid. Two children ages 12 and 14 were also found and physically unharmed.
The children were taken to the High Point Family Justice Center, a partner of the High Point Police Department, for interviews and to ensure they had a safe space as they too begin to process what happened.
“The tragedy that families experience, regardless of the age – it could be a day-old-baby to 100-year-old person – to experience a domestic violence situation of the magnitude that happened last week is very traumatic and very intense for that family,” said Catherine Johnson, the director of the Guildford County Family Justice Center. “It’s also intense to the professionals, partners, community members and neighbors.”
The Family Justice Center is a space designated to making crisis response easier on victims of domestic, child, sexual and elder abuse.
“When there is a crisis or tragedy in the community our partnership – which includes Family Service of the Piedmont, High Point Police Department here in High Point, along with social services and a lot of different agencies – all come together to work the complex needs of survivors and their families,” Johnson said.
Johnson said the pandemic has intensified the work that the center does in supporting victims of domestic violence, child abuse and sexual abuse.
“Family violence, in my opinion, is one of the most traumatic impacts to a child and to a family. When someone you love hurts you, instead of taking care of you, that’s very traumatic for an individual to experience,’ Johnson said.
There are multiple investigations underway including within the High Point Police Department, the State Bureau of Investigation and from the medical examiner’s office.