Las Cruces, N.M. ? Is it a hoax, or is someone holding an entire city for ransom?

Police told Las Cruces residents they’ve received two letters threatening random shootings if city leaders fail to hand over a “substantial” ransom.

How much? The city won’t say.

However, “the letter did reference that Las Cruces residents will be shot at random if the city didn’t comply with the extortion,” Lt. Randy Lara said.

The second letter, which arrived Friday, was handwritten with an unusual style of printing, and authorities were taking the threat seriously, he said.

“Frankly we still don’t know if we are dealing with a hoax or not,” Lara said Saturday. “But after the second correspondence we felt it was necessary to go ahead and put the information out there – with the caveat that people should still go about their daily business.”