Churchgoers recall unsolved bombings nearly two years after incidents
It’s been nearly two years since two explosives went off at two different Las Cruces churches, and the FBI is still looking for answers.
On Aug. 2, 2015 an explosive device went off at Holy Cross Catholic church during the 8 a.m. mass. Twenty minutes later, authorities said a second explosive went off at Calvary Baptist Church, which is about three miles away.
No one was hurt during the bombings.
Doug Heavner, an elder at Calvary Baptist said he still remembers the day vividly. He arrived at the church about an hour after the bomb went off.
“W hen we got here, of course the whole place was cordoned off by the police department,” Heavner said. “I t was really intense and we just didn’t understand what was going on.”
Heavner said the whole ordeal helped unite the community.
“It was definitely an intense time for our church, but a time that brought us really, really close together,” Heavner said.
Parishioner Michael Lujan said he thinks the community was able to bounce back from the scary situation fairly quickly.
“It was meant to evoke fear is what I would assume,” Lujan said. “But it didn’t for the most part — in the sense that it really did bring people together.”
Henry Telles and his wife Carol were both celebrating mass at Holy Cross when the bomb went off near the entrance of the church.
“It can happen anywhere, absolutely anywhere. You never know,” Carol said. “We thank god that we were all ok. Everyone made it out ok.”
Anyone with information about the incidents is asked to call the FBI at 505-889-1300, or Las Cruces Crime Stoppers (anonymously) at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), or by text to CRIMES (274637), keyword LCTIPS.
