MOORESVILLE, N.C. — A double homicide suspect wearing a bulletproof vest was shot and killed by deputies with the Iredell County Sheriff's Office on Sunday, ending a nearly eight-hour standoff at a home on Oswalt Amity Road.
It started when deputies were called about gunshots on Home Drive in Mooresville, where they found three people tied up at a house on Saturday night. Two of them were already shot dead inside the house, according to the Iredell County Sheriff's Office.
The murder victims were identified as 22-year-old Eduardo Cordova from Mooresville and 24-year-old Caleb Loper of Lincolnton.
The third person, who is fighting for his life in the hospital, was found on the back porch of the house in critical condition.
"This was not a random home invasion," Sheriff Darren Campbell said, "the suspect and victims were known to each other, and narcotics and robbery are a possible motive."
An investigation quickly led deputies to a home on Oswalt Amity Road.
When they approached that home, the deputies were met by a man who pointed an AR-15 rifle at them, according to the sheriff.
The man barricaded himself inside the home and started shooting at the deputies.
“He had potentially fired or that night fired approximately, it could’ve been 100s of rounds or 100 rounds at officers over the course of the night," Campbell said.
Deputies and the Emergency Response Team surrounded the house and tried to get the man, 39-year-old Justin Michael Strawser, to come outside.
That's when they learned four teenagers between 15 and 17 were inside the house.
The teens, Campbell said, "were uncooperative and refused rescue attempts by the deputies."
The standoff unfolded for several hours and negotiations weren't working. Each time deputies tried to get Strawser to leave the house, they said, he shot at them from inside and hit multiple patrol cars.
Strawser was also heard talking to negotiators about his involvement in the murders on Home Drive, the sheriff said.
The four teens did not exit until law enforcement placed gas in the house.
As the teens ran outside, Strawser followed behind them and shot at the deputies once again. He was wearing a bulletproof vest.
The deputies returned fire, killing Strawser.
The teens and the deputies were not hurt.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is conducting an officer-involved shooting investigation. Three deputies were placed on administrative leave, which is the standard policy of the sheriff's office.
“It's sad and it's also scary to know that these tragedies are happening right here in our own town," Dorothy Rodgers, a Mooresville resident, said. "Lord help us because he's the only one that can help us, you know?”
Speaking to WCNC Charlotte off camera, a man who identified himself as Strawser's brother said Strawser struggled with drug addiction and, like deputies, believes the incident was related to drugs. He said he's saddened by what he believes were his brother's actions and wishes Strawser wouldn't have done what he did.
Strawser was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of first-degree murder.
Pending charges against Strawser from other agencies include; felony possession of a weapon of mass destruction, breaking and entering and assault by strangulation.
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