The Las Cruces Police Department is still searching for the person or persons who planted bombs at two Las Cruces Churches earlier this month, and since the attacks the city has been on high alert.
Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima held a community meeting last night to answer questions from the public.
Representatives from the city, Dona Ana County, Las Cruces Public Schools, and various first responding agencies were on hand to answer questions and let the public know the different safety measure being taken.
Mayor Miyagishima said to remain vigilant, and gave out some safety tips.
“Simple things from keeping shrubs close to the ground,” Miyagishima said. “Having highly visible patrol, and I want to thank Las Cruces Police Department. If you noticed a lot more cars traveling throughout the city and the county, they are constantly on patrol and we appreciate them very much.”
The Dona Ana County Sherriff’s Department said they have had 14 reports of suspicious packages since August 2nd. Las Cruces Police Chief Jaime Montoya said community members have not been overreacting in reporting incidents, and should continue to report anything suspicious.
Montoya says he has been speaking with churches, businesses and other organizations about creating emergency plans over the last few weeks, and is willing to sit down with others.
“There’s people reaching out wanting to know some information,” Montoya said. “And we’re more than willing to sit down with them and talk strategies. We can talk about advice we can give them. It’s totally up to them whether they want to take it, but we can swap ideas on what to do to make their place safer. I know most churches are installing cameras now. It’s not going to prevent crime, or it’s not going to prevent a bomb. It may deter it. But it is also a good tool for law enforcement to go back later and gather evidence.”
Many at the meeting asked questions about the safety of Las Cruces Public Schools, Communications Director Jo Galvan said the schools are prepared to handle these incidents.
“So we have drills,” Galvan said. “We’ve had conversations with our principals, we review our policies and procedures. Every school has a safety team, where at the building level, they discuss where are they most vulnerable. What should we do if they call a lockdown, where’s the list of all the kids for the day.”
If you do see anything you think is suspicious, you can call Las Cruces Police Department at (575) 526-0795 or 911.
A full video of Wednesday’s meeting is available at the city’s website: http://las-cruces.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=2.
