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More than 33,000 people were without electricity Monday after two power substations in a North Carolina county were damaged by gunfire in what law enforcement officials called a « targeted » attack that could leave residents without power for days.
A person « opened fire » at both substations Saturday, Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said during a news conference. He did not say how the person got past the gates at either substation, but a photo from The Pilot shows the gate to one of the substations on the ground.
The outages began in Carthage, North Carolina, around 7 p.m. Saturday and then spread through the majority of central and southern Moore County, Fields said. He said power crews and deputies found « extensive damage » at the substations.
Fields said the FBI and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation are investigating the attack, but authorities have not determined a motive.
It is unclear whether there are multiple shooters involved, but Fields said the « person » or « persons » knew « exactly what they were doing. »
“It was targeted; it wasn’t random, » he said at a news conference Sunday.
Gov. Roy Cooper said on Twitter the state is providing resources to investigators and power crews.
“An attack like this on critical infrastructure is a serious, intentional crime and I expect state and federal authorities to thoroughly investigate and bring those responsible to justice,” Cooper said.
