Las Cruces Under A Cloud

Extortion:

LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- Las Cruces police are warning residents that someone threatened to randomly shoot people if city leaders failed to hand over what they described as a "substantial" ransom.

The city received the second of two threatening letters Friday afternoon, but police remained tightlipped about details of the demand, including how much money was involved. They did say the demand called for a "substantial amount."

At a news conference late Friday, Lt. Randy Lara said he didn't want to alarm residents but he urged them to watch for any suspicious activity.

"The letter did reference that Las Cruces residents will be shot at random if the city didn't comply with the extortion," Lara said.