NH News Briefs 10-29-2026

Federal election monitors will visit polling places in Manchester and Nashua on election day next week. The Department of Justice said the monitors will verify that cities are abiding by the Voting Rights Act and other federal election laws. The Trump administration reportedly plans to deploy over one-thousand monitors across all 50 states. Monitors were also in Manchester and Nashua during the September Primary.

The NH state Attorney General’s Office is releasing new details on a murder-suicide in Manchester. According to the AG, 36-year-old Bianchinies Cruz shot and killed his wife, 35-year-old Alisha Cruz, inside their house on Wheelock Street before taking his own life. The couple’s eight-year-old son was accidentally hit by gunfire and ended up being airlifted to a Massachusetts hospital, where he was last listed in serious condition. There’s no word on a motive for the murder-suicide.

The man who triggered a shelter-in-place notice in Salem, NH is now in custody. Authorities say Dahquan Cromer was caught yesterday in Massachusetts by State Police and United States Marshals. Cromer left the Calumet House transitional housing unit last December and was considered an escapee. He was originally behind bars for assault, but is wanted in connection with multiple felonies in Salem. Cromer was tracked to Massachusetts by posts he made on Facebook.

An investigation is underway into what led up to a fatal crash in Belknap County. The incident happened last night in the area of Henry Wilson Highway between the Alton Traffic Circle and Heron Point Road in Alton. The driver of one of the vehicles passed away at the scene and two people were taken to a hospital for evaluation. Anyone who saw the accident is asked to come forward.

Portsmouth officials say rising repair costs for the city’s vehicles are putting a strain on finances. The city owns more than 300 vehicles and they cost more than 24-million-dollars when they were purchased. However, replacement parts have driven that price tag up even higher in recent years and a system is in place to choose what ones need replacing.

The Reverend Edward Cardoza is the newly-elected Bishop of the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire. He currently serves as priest-in-charge of Grace Episcopal Church in Manchester. He will become the 11th Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire next March. Cardoza will succeed retiring Bishop Robert Hirschfeld who has served for 14 years.