NC - State of Emergency Declared in Moore County - Criminal Attack on Power Substations - 45K W/O Power

[SluthingAintEasy]

I came here to say the same thing, and actually to start a thread but I see someone beat me to it.

I also looked at a map of the area and saw that Moore County is right next to Fort Bragg, which I've long heard is one of the scariest areas in the U.S.

Hope this gets resolved quickly, and that includes the arrest of the perpetrator(s).

Bragg isn't so bad Ft Hood is worse. Both places are nicer and have less crime then Chicago.

 

[bosh]

This immediately made me think of the Colorado gas "attack" that left thousands without heat in the Aspen area in December 2020. I don't think they've caught the suspect in that incident.

Gas line sabotage investigation hits brick wall, Aspen Police say

After failing to identify a suspect, Aspen police have inactivated the investigation into a natural gas line attack last winter that left hundreds of city residents without heat for days.

www.aspentimes.com

 

[bosh]

But this is more smilar to the San Jose transformer shootings in 2013. Also no suspect ever identified.

FBI: Attack on PG&E substation was not terrorism

The FBI has a theory about who did it.

www.utilitydive.com

 

[MrsWatson]

FBI joins investigation into North Carolina power outage caused by 'intentional' attacks on substations | CNN

With no suspects or motive announced, the FBI is joining the investigation into power outages in a North Carolina county believed to have been caused by "intentional" and "targeted" attacks on substations that left around 40,000 customers in the dark Saturday night, prompting a curfew and...

us.cnn.com

 

[happy128]

State of Emergency: Power outage causes spike in break-ins, closed schools and curfew in Moore County

Southern Pines dealt with multiple breaking and entering incidents overnight, including a break-in at the Dollar General and an attempted break-in at a gun store, according to Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields.

"It's scary. We're facing things today that I'd never in my lifetime thought we'd be facing," said Fields. "The unrest across our nation. And when things like this start happening, as a law enforcement officer you've sworn an oath to protect the citizens here. It's very scary. I don't sleep very good at night, and I won't until this individual is put in custody and held accountable."

 

[Hoosgirl]

Governor, Duke Energy and Sheriff press conference today. Video and an imperfect transcript at link.

Gov. Cooper update on Moore County power outages, criminal investigation

Governor Roy Cooper provides briefing on the Duke Energy substations that were heavily damaged in Moore County over the weekend, causing a State of Emergency and major investigation.

www.wral.com

 

[ClaireNC]

Update with a good summary of the situation: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article269579392.html


As of 3:30 p.m. Monday, 32,307 homes and businesses remained without power,
….
‘We’re looking at a pretty sophisticated repair with some pretty large equipment, so we do want citizens to be prepared that this will be a multi-day restoration for most customers extending potentially as long as Thursday,” he said.
….
Fields stressed that Saturday’s attack was “targeted,” and that “the persons who did this knew exactly what they were doing.” Fields said that considering state and federal involvement and the “millions of dollars” of damage done to Duke Energy property, charges will have “more teeth, more bite,” and will be “extensive.”
….
Answering a question about whether the attack rises to the level of domestic terrorism, Fields deferred to the judgment of federal officials assisting in the investigation.


Read more at: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article269579392.html#storylink=cpy

 

[ClaireNC]

I came here to say the same thing, and actually to start a thread but I see someone beat me to it.

I also looked at a map of the area and saw that Moore County is right next to Fort Bragg, which I've long heard is one of the scariest areas in the U.S.

Hope this gets resolved quickly, and that includes the arrest of the perpetrator(s).

After living most of my life in the northeast US and moving to rural NC 12 years ago, there really isn’t much to be afraid of in the Fort Bragg area. It’ s much safer than parts of New York, Los Angeles, Chicago or pretty much any city in the US.

The southern part of Moore County - Southern Pines/Pinehurst is pretty upscale. It’s home to several world-renowned golf courses and country clubs and is known as an equestrian center. Whereas the northern part of the county is more rural and it’s more common to see guys dressed in camo driving trucks and an occasional confederate flag on display.

 

[Puzzles8]

The larger issue in the States and around the world is the vulnerability of all of our utility systems. Water plants, natural gas supply lines and electrical infrastructure. It can quickly become life threatening without any of these utilities, especially in the winter.

AT&T has gotten the point. Their main hubs are large concrete buildings with little to no windows. The security around them is like Fort Knox.

I think this is an isolated display of domestic terrorism by someone with a grudge. They obviously had advanced knowledge of an electrical grid's vulnerabilities.

Sadly, this is also a wake up call to start protecting our critical infrastructure.

JMO

 

[airportwoman]

I'm surprised that the culprit/s haven't gone on social media and bragged about it, beyond live-streaming their crime.

 

[FlyerFan28]

I am a praying person and have strong personal beliefs, yet I find it inappropriate at best that law enforcement would publicly state this. Investigating and finding someone was not involved is quite different from what they expressed here. Their job is certainly to objectively investigate domestic terrorism? Imo

This is normal for NC (I live here).

 

[vls12345]

The targeted attack was likely aimed much bigger than the drag show. If someone wanted to take the power out at a theater, they would go after the theater transformer or service drop. No need to take out 45,000 customers.

Agree with poster above. This is domestic terrorism, and has been a predicted national concern for quite some time. There was a recent segment on 60 Minutes about the danger to the national electrical grid.

Here is an article about it.

Vulnerable U.S. electric grid facing threats from Russia and domestic terrorists

Bill Whitaker reports that a coordinated attack on a relatively small number of critical substations could plunge the U.S. into darkness.

www.cbsnews.com

If it is domestic terrorism, there is a National Terrorism Advisory that has been in effect since Nov. 30: National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin - November 30, 2022 02:00 pm

National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin - November 30, 2022 | Homeland Security

www.dhs.gov

 

[Bodhi]

From your link:

"When asked whether this was domestic terrorism, Sheriff Fields said he couldn’t say whether this was domestic terrorism or not, saying he would leave that for the feds to determine. But he added it was absolutely intentional and the perpetrators knew what they were doing.

Fields also said he couldn’t speak to what the motivation is because no group has claimed responsibility for it yet."

Glad the FBI and SBI are involved. The local sheriff seeming to want to wait on a group to "claim responsibility" seems a bit, er, less than proactive. I'm doubting the perpetrator(s) are just going to step forward.

The sheriff's comments that no one has taken credit struck me as remarkably naive. While he may not have been familiar with the Nov. 28 national intelligence warning about domestic terrorism before Saturday evening, he should understand it now. Surely, he's been interacting with homeland security and intelligence agencies investigation the attacks since then.

<modsnip>

Whether this was an organized plot or a lone actor or two, it was not purely criminal--in my opinion. It is political violence.

 

[Hoosgirl]

The Daily Mail as usual has good pictures. Included in this article are pictures of the gunshot holes and material to absorb oil from the ground, as well as substation repair work.

40,000 North Carolina homes left without power for a second night

Residents of North Carolina county faced a second night of freezing weather without power on Sunday after vandals destroyed two electric substations. Police are trying to work out a motive.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Trebor5591]

I came here to say the same thing, and actually to start a thread but I see someone beat me to it.

I also looked at a map of the area and saw that Moore County is right next to Fort Bragg, which I've long heard is one of the scariest areas in the U.S.

Hope this gets resolved quickly, and that includes the arrest of the perpetrator(s).

Why do you say Fort Bragg is "one of the scariest areas in the U.S."?

 

[Trebor5591]

From your link:

"When asked whether this was domestic terrorism, Sheriff Fields said he couldn’t say whether this was domestic terrorism or not, saying he would leave that for the feds to determine. But he added it was absolutely intentional and the perpetrators knew what they were doing.

Fields also said he couldn’t speak to what the motivation is because no group has claimed responsibility for it yet."

Glad the FBI and SBI are involved. The local sheriff seeming to want to wait on a group to "claim responsibility" seems a bit, er, less than proactive. I'm doubting the perpetrator(s) are just going to step forward.

In my opinion, the sheriff is being conservative and not jumping to conclusions as to motivation for the crime, unlike some members of this thread.

 

[steeltowngirl]

In my opinion, the sheriff is being conservative and not jumping to conclusions as to motivation for the crime, unlike some members of this thread.

There is a difference between jumping to conclusions and using an informed approach to deduce an opinion. Which is perfectly acceptable to do here.

 

[Mad Hettie]

The targeted attack was likely aimed much bigger than the drag show. If someone wanted to take the power out at a theater, they would go after the theater transformer or service drop. No need to take out 45,000 customers.

Agree with poster above. This is domestic terrorism, and has been a predicted national concern for quite some time. There was a recent segment on 60 Minutes about the danger to the national electrical grid.

Here is an article about it.

Vulnerable U.S. electric grid facing threats from Russia and domestic terrorists

Bill Whitaker reports that a coordinated attack on a relatively small number of critical substations could plunge the U.S. into darkness.

www.cbsnews.com

Yes. When I saw the news, I wondered if this was a practice session.

 

[sds71]

In February, 3 white supremacists pleaded guilty to a plot to "attack [power] substations, or power grids, with powerful rifles".

Three Men Plead Guilty to Conspiring to Provide Material Support to a Plot to Attack Power Grids in the United States

Three men pleaded guilty today to crimes related to a scheme to attack power grids in the United States in furtherance of white supremacist ideology.

www.justice.gov

 

[PrairieWind]

IMO the law enforcement officers “hav[ing] a word of prayer” with the suspected criminal/domestic terrorist suggests to me that the local PD may be quite sympathetic to said suspect, and I will be genuinely surprised if they ever charge that person with any crime.

I think you misunderstand what they meant by that. LOL.