US: Faith holds at New Mexico churches targeted by small blasts

[webfact]

Faith holds at New Mexico churches targeted by small blasts
By PAUL DAVENPORT and FELICIA FONSECA

LAS CRUCES: -- A New Mexico church service was set to start when the mailbox exploded near the office entrance.

Unshaken in faith, the congregation of Calvary Baptist in Las Cruces headed to the parking lot, set up folding chairs and listened as the pastor drew from the story of David and Goliath.

The explosion that sent the mailbox flying 100 feet over a woman's head was the first of two om Sunday that caused minor damage to two churches in Las Cruces — the second-largest city in New Mexico near the border of Mexico and Texas.

No one was injured in the blasts at Calvary Baptist and Holy Cross Roman Catholic, but authorities said the explosive devices could have caused serious injuries if anyone had been nearby.

No arrests have been made.

Calvary Baptist Pastor Scott Rodgers said he had spent three days preparing his sermon for Sunday but somehow sensed Saturday that he needed to change course. He searched the scriptures and was led to the story of David and Goliath.

"What I saw there is that when in the midst of difficult situations, we need to, rather than look at the size of our problem, we need to look at the size of our God," he said. "It provided a great deal of comfort."

Calvary Baptist reopened Monday. No one answered the phone at Holy Cross, where an explosion in a trash can caused damage to a glass entryway.

Authorities have declined to provide specifics on the explosives that went off about 20 minutes apart at the two churches.

Calvary Baptist sits at the corner off a major street about a mile from New Mexico State University, while Holy Cross is tucked in a residential neighborhood less than four miles away.

Monsignor John Anderson was blessing bread and wine for Communion at Holy Cross when the trash can exploded.

Arriving police officers evacuated the church and blocked off surrounding buildings while bomb-sniffing dogs searched the church property.

"I was right in the middle of saying the words 'Take and eat, this is my body,' and there was a pow! I mean, I knew it had to be more than a gunshot," Anderson told the Las Cruces Sun-News (http://bit.ly/1ME7PEp). "I didn't know if it was a shotgun blast, I didn't know what. But it was very loud, and I just kept on saying the words."

Authorities are working to determine what materials were used and whether the blasts were related.

"It doesn't appear to be coincidental because of the timing, but you never know," Las Cruces police spokesman Danny Trujillo said.

FBI spokesman Frank Fisher said investigators will look into any possible links between the blasts and the June fatal shooting of nine black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina. But he said there was no immediate indication of a connection.

The FBI established a hotline, 1-800-225-5324, for information on the blasts.

"Somebody out there knows something, and we want them to call us," Fisher said. "These were strong devices."

Police advised other churches in the city to look out for anything suspicious and let police inspect anything found.

Gov. Susana Martinez, who was a prosecutor in Las Cruces before becoming governor, told residents Sunday to keep attending houses of worship and promised that the "coward" will be caught.

She told reporters that if the intention was to bring fear to those who worship, it was a failed effort.

Rodgers said members of the church ministry team are being made available for anyone who needs prayer, something he's hopeful will help bring peace.

"We're all just incredibly grateful that God protected us, there was not a single injury," he said. "If anything, it has increased our faith in the Lord."
___

Davenport reported from Phoenix. Fonseca reported from Flagstaff, Ariz.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-08-04

[Somtamnication]

Interesting to find out who did this.

[sdanielmcev]

And the reaction.

[impulse]

When I was a kid, blowing up mailboxes was a common prank that would have barely made the local news. How the world has changed.

[HerbalEd]

I'm not saying there's a connection here, but many Native Americans are still very angry with the catholic church because of the it's direct hand in the genocide perpetrated by the Spanish conquistadors throughout SW America, Mexico, Central and South America. It's a horrific story and a blight on the catholic church.

[Seastallion]

So many possibilities, from right-wing wannabe trying to frame Islamists (and I say wannabe because it looks to have been very amateurish), to mentally ill teenager, to....

Too early to speculate, but I doubt it was an Islamist....something tells me the explosions would have been bigger.

[sgtsabai]

New Mexico was my home for 25 years. It was a great place to live, far better than Texas (yea, I got the message) where I grew up. A very religious area among the Hispanic and Indian population, different religions, very different. Frankly I can't imagine any of the two doing this. I haven't heard from any of my friends there, in particular a former assistant DA and now attorney that takes a lot of cop cases for the cop side. She could probably give me some insight as to current theories. I need to drop her a note. Considering what little I know, I would suspect more of a prank in nature. Sounds kinda' like stupid teenager stuff, like blowing up wall lockers and toilets in high school.

[ggt]

Incredibly fortunate that no one was injured or killed in these blasts...

Can someone help me out here? What is the point?

Is someone targeting churches...Spanish speaking people...or both?

What are they trying to accomplish?

[impulse]

Incredibly fortunate that no one was injured or killed in these blasts...

Can someone help me out here? What is the point?

Is someone targeting churches...Spanish speaking people...or both?

What are they trying to accomplish?

If this was 40 years ago, I'd say they were trying to see how high they could launch a mailbox. Launching garbage cans was a variation on the theme. It was a meaningless prank.

Nowadays? I hope they didn't post their prank on Twitter.... Or they'll be getting a visit.

[sgtsabai]

ggt, I doubt Spanish speaking people as the vast majority of New Mexico is Spanish speaking. While NM has it's share of racist white people and the present gov. is a Koch (John Birch Society) stooge, it really is not a racist state, except for Spanish against Anglo in some cases. It was run on the "Patron system" (or el jefe'...lol) for many years, now with the advent of Koch money the "good 'ol boy" system. I would imagine that causes some blowback. I'm at a loss as to the reason of the mini bombs.