The FBI is reported to be investigating bombs that exploded minutes apart at two Las Cruces, New Mexico churches Sunday morning.
One bomb was placed at the front door of a church while mass was being conducted for parishioners. The other bomb was in a mailbox and exploded as people were arriving for Sunday services.
There were no reported injuries from either bomb.
This is the scene at Calvary Baptist Church in Las Cruces @LasCrucesPolice have Locust street blocked off at Missouri pic.twitter.com/pEiCLS9lim
— Courtney Vosburgh (@court_vosburgh) August 2, 2015
Images from Holy Cross Catholic Church. #explosion @CrucesSunNews pic.twitter.com/E5RLRUa7Sm
— Robin Zielinski (@Ikillthelight) August 2, 2015
KOAT-TV reported on the bombings.
“Authorities said the first device went off in a mailbox at the Calvary Baptist Church, and the second device exploded in a trash bin at the Holy Cross Catholic Church.
“Investigators said the device at Calvary Baptist Church detonated at 8:30 a.m., and the device at Holy Cross Catholic Church exploded in a trash bin at 8:45 a.m., shattering a stained-glass window.”
The Las Cruces Sun-News reported an eyewitness at one church claims to have seen bomb parts.
“”It was a real bomb, I saw all the parts,” said Cavalry Baptist member Dennis Llewellyn, who said he was outside the church when the explosive went off. Llewellyn said he was a former special forces member with the Marines and recognized the bomb parts that included an Everready battery. He and fellow church member, Mike Stewart, kept churchgoers arriving for the 8:30 a.m. service from going into the building during the five to 10 minutes it took for police to arrive. Stewart was the one to notice the debris and damaged mailbox, the two men said.
“Llewellyn described the explosion as loud, and Stewart, who was inside, said it shook the building. Llewellyn said there were about 30 people inside the building when the explosion occurred.”
…”The 8 a.m. Mass was going on when the disturbance hit Holy Cross Catholic Church. Ann Marie Sullivan, a college student and lifelong parishioner at Holy Cross, described it. “It sounded like something had fallen off and shattered the glass in the back.”
…”At the end of the Lord’s Prayer, the pastor sent a deacon to find out what had happened, who reported that a bomb had exploded in a trash can outside the front glass doors, shattering the thick glass.”
UPDATE by JIM HOFT:
A close friend of The Gateway Pundit was at the Catholic Church when the bomb exploded.
This is what we were told—
John was at our church when it happened. No injuries and both bombs went off in the parking lot.
The one at Holy Cross was in a trash can and my dad said the glass doors shattered. The entryway ceiling is coming down. The explosion happened during the Consecration. All of the parishioners were escorted out of the church and had to call family and friends for rides. The bomb at the other church was planted in a mailbox. This is so unsettling since our kids school is 50 feet away from the church and school starts in a week and a half.
