NMSU handles drive-by, bomb threat in one week

On top of preparing for the Rio Grande rivalry this weekend, the NMSU community had to deal with a bomb threat and a drive-by shooting.

The drive-by shooting on Monday started near the Doña Ana branch of NMSU and moved on campus. No one was injured, and one man is in custody for the shooting, said NMSU Police Department Deputy Chief Steven Lopez.

Tuesday, the NMSU Police Department got a call at 8:30 a.m. from a student reporting a suspicious device.

Whoever left the suspicious item attached a piece of paper that said “this is a bomb” to the cylindrical bottom of a bicycle U-lock. The supposed bomb was spotted in a planter in the main plaza on campus. Police inspected it and said it wasn’t dangerous.
Lopez said his squad effectively handled the bomb threat through the university’s emergency text-message system.

“As we dispatched our officers, we also put out a warning to people in the area,” Lopez said. “When the officers got on scene, they were able determine safe distances and isolate the area without having to cancel any classes or evacuate the building.”
NMSU student Brittney Martinez said the university handled the incident well and warned students of the potential danger.

“They did a pretty good job,” she said. “Pretty much everyone that I talked to that day had heard about it.”

UNM Police Department Commander James T. Daniels wouldn’t give specifics about UNM’s bomb threat policy but said the department is more than adequately prepared for any situation.

“We work hand-in-hand with APD, state and Bernalillo police,” Daniels said. “We can request assistance from their trained squads in any situation.”

Freshman Kevin Hudson said UNMPD should defer to a more highly trained and experienced police squad in bomb-threat situations, rather than handle the situation on its own.

“I do not trust UNM police,” he said. “They just don’t seem competent to me.”
Daniels said bomb-threat situations tend to arise during finals week, because students call them in to avoid taking exams.

“People don’t study for their tests, so they panic and call in a bomb threat,” he said.

Lopez said both of the NMSU incidents are still under investigation.

“There is currently an investigation in regard to both disturbances, but there is no information that we can release to the public,” he said.