State of emergency declared for NC county after gunfire damages substations, cuts power
MOORE COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — A state of emergency has been declared as nearly 40,000 people continue to deal with power outages in one North Carolina county.
Moore County officials held a press conference Sunday afternoon to address a "criminal occurrence" they said had taken place at two power substations on Saturday.
In a Facebook post late Saturday night, Dec. 3, Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said reports of mass power outages within the county were being investigated as an act of criminal vandalism.
The sheriff says just after 7 p.m. Saturday, several communities in the county began experiencing power outages.
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"As utility companies began responding to the different substations, evidence was discovered that indicated that intentional vandalism had occurred at multiple sites," the post said. During Sunday's press conference, authorities confirmed a firearm had been used to disable equipment at the substations. Authorities said multiple law enforcement agencies, including state law enforcement and FBI, are investigating the matter and looking for a suspect or suspects.
Officials briefly addressed possible allegations of motive in the incident when asked by reporters, but quickly said they were looking into "every avenue" and that they couldn't say what the exact motive was just yet. Officials did confirm they believed the incident was intentional and not a random act, adding that a person or persons pulled up to two substations and opened fire on them Saturday. Authorities were also asked during the conference whether they could deem the act as "domestic terrorism," to which they said they could not answer whether or not it was at this time in the investigation.
A tweet from Moore Public Safety reports power crews were working on the issue and urged people not to call 911 to report the outages as an emergency.
As part of the state of emergency, a county-wide curfew went into effect Sunday at 4 p.m. that requires people to stay indoors from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
An emergency, temporary shelter is being opened at Moore County Parks & Recreation located at 155 Hillcrest Park Ln in Carthage. The Red Cross is assisting with the shelter.
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As of 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Duke Energy reported out of 47,018 total customers served in Moore County, 35,957 customers were without power at the time and 93 active outages were reported.
A spokesperson for Duke Energy during Sunday's conference said due to the extensive damage done, it could be several days, possibly Thursday, until power could be restored to residents.
Moore County Schools cancelled classes for Monday and a spokesperson for the district said school officials would be taking the situation day to day.
In a series of tweets Sunday, Governor Roy Cooper said he had spoken to Duke Energy and law enforcement officials about the matter, adding that the state will be helping provide transportation and public safety assistance to the county during this time.
"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," Gov. Cooper said in a tweet.
State resources assisting in the response include:
- North Carolina Department of Transportation
- Alcohol Law Enforcement
- North Carolina State Highway Patrol
- State Bureau of Investigation
“The NC Department of Public Safety is working with our local and federal law enforcement partners and will provide the appropriate state resources needed to assist in this investigation,” stated NCDPS Secretary, Eddie M. Buffaloe, Jr. in a press release.
"Anyone with any information about this act of violence should contact the Moore County Sheriff’s Office at 910-947-2931," the sheriff's office said in a release.