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Massive power outage in N Carolina caused by gunfire


susieice

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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/north-carolina-power-outages-caused-by-gunfire-at-substations-officials-say/ar-AA14Twe9

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/intentional-vandalism-suspected-in-north-carolina-county-power-outage-sheriff/ar-AA14TGT6

Vandals wielding firearms are suspected of causing a major power outage across a North Carolina county that has plunged about 45,000 customers into darkness amid freezing temperatures, according to authorities.

Evidence of sabotage was found at two key electrical substations following the massive blackout Saturday night, prompting the Moore County Sheriff's Office to investigate the incident as a "criminal occurrence" and call in the FBI to assist in the probe.

A state of emergency was declared in Moore County on Sunday and a countywide 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew was set to be imposed Sunday night.

Jeff Brooks, spokesman for Duke Energy, the local public utility, said the two electrical substations were severely damage in the attacks and much of the equipment will have to be replaced. He said it could be until Thursday when power is completely restored.

The power outages began at about 7 p.m. Saturday, and thousands of Duke Energy customers remained without electricity on Sunday after enduring freezing temperatures overnight.

Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said at a news conference Sunday that the perpetrator or perpetrators of the sabotage "knew exactly what they were doing." He said multiple shots were fired at each of the damaged substations and a gate was rammed open at one of the properties to reach the target.

Edited by susieice
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https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/authorities-investigating-north-carolina-power-outage-as-criminal-act-involving-gunfire

Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said at a Sunday news conference that authorities have not determined a motivation. He said someone pulled up and “opened fire on the substation, the same thing with the other one.”

“No group has stepped up to acknowledge or accept that they’re the ones that done it,” Fields said, adding “we’re looking at all avenues.”

The sheriff noted that the FBI was working with state investigators to determine who was responsible. He also said “it was targeted.”

“It wasn’t random,” Fields said.

Fields said law enforcement is providing security at the substations and for businesses overnight.

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This is a large but good article.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/04/us/power-outage-moore-county-criminal-investigation/index.html

Municipality and county officials “have formed a plan for the night and the next few nights that we may be out of power. It’s a very serious situation,” Fields said. “So we’ve come to an agreement to best protect our citizens and to protect the businesses of our county, we’re going to implement a curfew tonight.”

A state of emergency went into effect at 4 p.m. Sunday as law enforcement, city and energy officials are investigating the incident and working to restore the two substations, authorities said. Law enforcement has also been providing security for the stations, according to the sheriff.

The power outage is being investigated as a “criminal occurrence” after crews found signs of potential vandalism at several locations, CNN previously reported.

Fields said multiple rounds were fired at the two substations. “It was targeted, it wasn’t random,” he said.

No suspects have been identified in connection with the incident. Fields would not say if the criminal activity was domestic terrorism.

“The person, or persons, who did this knew exactly what they were doing,” Fields said. “We don’t have a clue why Moore County.”

A gate at one of the locations also appears to have been taken off its hinges, Mike Cameron of the Southern Pines Fire and Rescue Department told CNN on Sunday afternoon.

Edited by susieice
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7 minutes ago, Sir Wearer of Hats said:

That’s terrorism. 

I agree.  It's also kind of creepy for me.  I read a work of fiction a few years ago called THE BORROWED WORLD and this kind of an attack was described.  In fact, the premise was that a middle eastern surgeon who was practicing in the U.S. was watching an NPR documentary about America's failing infrastructure and decided to provide copies of the video to his, uh, associates in Pakistan.

Long story short, a dozen small cells deployed to communities with fuel refineries, dams, bridges, tunnels, and especially, power substations with vulnerable, VERY hard to replace transformers.  They smuggled 82mm mortars, .50 cal rifles, and a small number of anti-tank weapons over the southern border and within a day, they had basically crashed our grid.  The transformers are cooled by circulating oil and the .50 cals could be fired from a half mile away.  The transformer springs a leak, overheats and voila`.  The refinery attacks were done from a quarter mile outside the perimeter fencing, using 82mm mortars with high explosive charges and they were set up with crude mechanisms made of ice in the barrel.  The ice plug held the round up at the muzzle and once it melted, the round dropped and boom!  No one there when it fired.

I remember thinking at the time how absolutely simple and inexpensive such a plan would be.  Our border has been wide open for over two years.

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1 minute ago, and-then said:

I remember thinking at the time how absolutely simple and inexpensive such a plan would be.  Our border has been wide open for over two years.

So. you're dismissing the possibility of home grown terrorism?

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In the articles there is mention of a drag queen event that was supposed to take place on Saturday night. After the shootings in Colorado Springs, it got a mention but no one can say that was the motivation. There's always speculation. 

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27 minutes ago, Likely Guy said:

So. you're dismissing the possibility of home grown terrorism?

Shooting the machinery does seem to be the result of a very American train of thought. 
You know, the sort of thinking that led to people being told not to shoot into tornadoes. 

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I'm wondering if the power was taken out to cut power to surveillance systems for a crime spree. I hope I'm wrong.

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1 minute ago, Hankenhunter said:

I'm wondering if the power was taken out to cut power to surveillance systems for a crime spree. I hope I'm wrong.

That's a good thought. Police are protecting businesses tonight also. There's a curfew in place from 9 pm to 5 am. Schools are closed too.

Edited by susieice
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Reminds me a bit of this story..

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metcalf_sniper_attack

On April 16, 2013, an attack was carried out on Pacific Gas and Electric Company's Metcalf transmission substation in Coyote, California, near the border of San Jose. The attack, in which gunmen fired on 17 electrical transformers, resulted in more than $15 million worth of equipment damage, but it had little impact on the station's electrical power supply.[1][2][3]

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, Likely Guy said:

So. you're dismissing the possibility of home grown terrorism?

Not at all.  I was simply mentioning the similarity between that work of fiction and this event.  Ultimately, if such an attack occurs on a catastrophic scale, it won't really matter who is to blame.  The point made in that novel was that we really have no serious defense against such bad actors.  The description of how they used simple indirect-fire weapons to create a conflagration inside the perimeter of massive oil refineries was shocking because average people can intuitively understand how that could happen.  I'm sure that these plants have fire department assets but if actual storage tanks were breached and set alight there wouldn't be any easy way to stop it before it destroyed the systems that refine the crude.  It could take years to rebuild and all of that capacity would be gone until it was rebuilt.  The same with those special transformers that can be destroyed by shooting holes in them and causing the cooling oil to leak.

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54 minutes ago, Hankenhunter said:

I'm wondering if the power was taken out to cut power to surveillance systems for a crime spree. I hope I'm wrong.

Ohh that’s novel. 

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is there any actual evidence of a motive for this?

Edited by el midgetron
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13 minutes ago, el midgetron said:

is there any actual evidence of a motive for this?

According to susieice's last link, nothing yet.

Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said at a Sunday news conference that authorities have not determined a motivation.

Edited by Hankenhunter
Clarity
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As I've just had to remove several posts, a reminder to discuss the topic, rather than other posters.

Thanks in advance,

Tiggs
[Forum Mod Team]

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4 hours ago, Tatetopa said:

Is this a MAGA practice event?  Isn't their mantra "Burn it all down"?

Yes i have seen posts to that effect countless times about burn it down, however we dont know yet which group or persons are responsible for this act of domestic violence and terrorism.

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6 hours ago, Tatetopa said:

Is this a MAGA practice event?  Isn't their mantra "Burn it all down"?

that is also what the left has said many times.  

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7 hours ago, Tatetopa said:

Is this a MAGA practice event?  Isn't their mantra "Burn it all down"?

 

2 hours ago, the13bats said:

Yes i have seen posts to that effect countless times about burn it down, however we dont know yet which group or persons are responsible for this act of domestic violence and terrorism.

Judging by statistics, I suspect this was an Antifa/BLM terrorist act. There were more than $2 Billion in damages caused by Antifa/BLM rioters, whereas the Jan. 6th incident resulted in damage to only one building.

Minneapolis alone reported about 700 buildings damaged by Antifa/BLM rioters.

“Of the 700 buildings that were damaged, 12 were completely destroyed and had to be demolished for public safety reasons.”

https://www.fox9.com/news/map-shows-approximately-700-buildings-damaged-in-minneapolis-riots

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