Walter Rubel reports for the Las Cruces Sun-News:
Explosions about a half hour apart shattered the serenity of morning services at two Las Cruces churches Sunday, but caused no injuries and only minor damage, police said.
The explosions happened at Calvary Baptist Church, 1800 S. Locust, shortly after 8 a.m. and Holy Cross Catholic Church, 1327 N. Miranda, about a half hour later. The explosion at Holy Cross took place in a trash can just outside the entrance of the church as services for the 8 a.m. Mass were taking place.
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At a press conference Sunday night, Gov. Susana Martinez said that only a "coward" would place an explosive device in a church. She vowed that the person responsible would be caught, and urged people to continue to attend church services.
"Whoever did this will feel the full pressure of the law," she said. "If your intention was to bring fear to those who worship, you have failed."
Gov. Martinez was previously District Attorney of the county. I lived in Las Cruces from 1971 to 1976.* * *
[Las Cruces police spokesman Dan] Trujillo said had no information yet as to possible motives, but police assume the two blasts are related.
"Just the fact that they were at churches the same day a half and hour apart or so, that leads us to believe it could be something related," he said.
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