A Santa Fe school evacuated Thursday afternoon due to bomb threats at the nearby home of Democratic New Mexico Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth. House Majority Floor Leader Reena Szczepanski also received a similar threat.

Chris Nordstrum, the communications director for Senate Democrats, initially confirmed the threat to Source New Mexico. Szczepanski received a “similar threat” around the same time as Wirth, Camille Ward, a spokesperson for the House Democrats told Source. 

Wirth, who was in Taos Thursday for the Legislature’s Water and Natural Resources interim committee meeting, subsequently issued a statement mid-afternoon acknowledging that a threat had been made against him, “leading to disruption and an evacuation at schools in my neighborhood. I am grateful to our state and local law enforcement agencies for their swift and professional response to this serious matter, and to the school officials who skillfully managed the disturbance.”

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Wirth’s statement continued on to say that, “Political violence and threats against elected officials have no place in our democratic society and are never an acceptable way to address political differences. Regardless of our political views, we must reject intimidation and work together through peaceful, lawful means to resolve our disagreements.”

Wirth concluded by noting he remains “committed to fostering respectful civic dialogue and protecting the safety of all who serve our community.”

Szczepanski issued a statement early Thursday evening that, “My family and I are safe and we are grateful for the quick action of local and state law enforcement who investigated today. These kinds of threats and actions hurt all of us. I know it can be shocking to feel this hit so close to home, but at the same time it’s not representative of our incredible Santa Fe community. For the health of our state, our country, and our democracy, we cannot allow our disagreements and differences to escalate to threats and violence.”

The bomb threats followed Wednesday’s fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University, and came amid similar threats across the country, including at numerous Historically Black Colleges and University campuses, leading to lockdowns and canceled classes. 

A spokesperson for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office told Source NM via email that the governor’s office was taking Thursday’s threats in Santa Fe “with the utmost seriousness and are responding in full coordination with local law enforcement, federal authorities, and emergency management personnel. At this time, it appears that the threat was just that—a threat—and no bombs have been located.”

New Mexico State Police initially posted on social media a little after 12 p.m. on Thursday that a bomb threat had been called in somewhere in the area of Camino De Cruz Blanca in Santa Fe between Camino Del Monte Sol and Calle Romolo. 

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A statement from City of Santa Fe Deputy Police Chief Ben Valdez provided to Source NM said that city and state police initially responded to a bomb threat in the 1000 block of Camino de Cruz Blanca at approximately 10:40 am. SFPD provided patrol officers for scene security and traffic control, and its Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit to investigate the threat.

“Contact was made with leadership at Santa Fe Prep to inform them of an incident near their campus. Santa Fe Prep was evacuated, parents were contacted to pick up their students. Both NMSP and SFPD were present with the students and faculty as a controlled release was conducted and students were released to their parents,” Valdez’s statement said.

Santa Fe Preparatory Head of School Aaron Schubach told Source NM Thursday the school had a mandatory evacuation plan in place, and had practiced the drill about four times a year. Between staff and students there were about 400 people at the school Thursday. “We were entirely off campus within six minutes,” he said. “Our students were incredible, as were faculty and staff, the way we talked about it was the way that it went.”

At the same time, Santa Fe Police received “another threat of the same nature” on a nearby street.

“Out of an abundance of caution, considering yesterday’s senseless killing of political activist Charlie Kirk, City Hall was placed on a lockdown,” Valdez wrote. That lockdown was lifted at 1:47 p.m.

“We take all threats seriously,” Valdez’s statement said. “They have no place in our community and individuals that make threats will be held accountable.”

In response to the threats Thursday in Santa Fe, U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján, along with Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, all New Mexico Democrats, posted to social media that they were monitoring the situation from Washington, D.C. “Political violence and threats of violence have no place in America,” Heinrich wrote.  

In a statement provided to Source, Lujan Grisham called the national threats on Thursday “reprehensible” and said they “have no place in our democracy, particularly on this somber day when we honor the memory of September 11th and the values of unity and resilience that define us as Americans. While we may disagree on issues, intimidation and violence are never acceptable. I call on all citizens to engage in peaceful discourse rather than resorting to threats. New Mexico will not be intimidated by those who seek to undermine our democratic processes.”

Patrick Lohmann contributed to the writing and reporting of this story.