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

[PrairieWind]

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.

I don't think he is being naïve, he is staying in his lane. You are just assuming this is a terrorist act. He is correctly being careful with his words.

 

[bosh]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1600214941268672512

 

[branmuffin]

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."

I'm sure it's more than one individual.

 

[PrairieWind]

I'm sure it's more than one individual.

This is just pure speculation, but I agree. I get the feeling there is more than one person involved here.

 

[Tillicum]

I'm not a conspiracy theorist or a crazy prepper, but I think we can all learn from what the area is dealing with. This can happen anywhere, and we need to plan and prepare accordingly IMO.

 

[bosh]

I'm not a conspiracy theorist or a crazy prepper, but I think we can all learn from what the area is dealing with. This can happen anywhere, and we need to plan and prepare accordingly IMO.

Attacks on infrastructure have been happening across the states for years both physical and cyber.

 

[Tillicum]

Attacks on infrastructure have been happening across the states for years both physical and cyber.

I agree which is why I think we need to be prepared.

 

[ClaireNC]

This is just pure speculation, but I agree. I get the feeling there is more than one person involved here.

I agree. There were 2 substations hit, both between 7 and 8 pm. It takes about 20 minutes to drive between the two locations. Officials are being pretty tight-lipped on the details of the attacks, but it would be difficult for 1 person to hit both places in an hour. Not impossible, but unlikely in my opinion.

 

[citizen_sleuth]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1600257787023437825

https://twitter.com/x/status/1600257135526354944

 

[ClaireNC]

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

That’s one of the theories being discussed locally.

 

[Hoopsticks]

It would be very interesting to know the locations of the two separate substations and the times they are both believed to have been attacked. Could help to show if it was one person/vehicle driving to both locations one after the other, or two vehicles driving to both locations at the same time. That kind of timeline would also suggest whether or not the attacker(s) were at the protest or not.

 

[Hoopsticks]

I agree. There were 2 substations hit, both between 7 and 8 pm. It takes about 20 minutes to drive between the two locations. Officials are being pretty tight-lipped on the details of the attacks, but it would be difficult for 1 person to hit both places in an hour. Not impossible, but unlikely in my opinion.

Sorry I missed this.

But between those locations and the protest, yeah. I find it pretty unlikely this was one person.

Has anything been revealed about the damage to the gates at the stations? Are we talking about potentially rammed with vehicles? I'd expect some damage there

:edit: deleted a profanity.

 

[Hoosgirl]

Does anyone know if there were cameras at the substations? Would be great if there is some potential video evidence.

(I also recall from following the Sidney & Tammy Moorer/Heather Elvis case that the cameras on the substation across from the Moorer house were unfortunately fakes, like the security stickers or signs you put up at your house to make it look like you have an alarm system when you don't actually have one. Hoping these had cameras and that they were operational!)

 

[steeltowngirl]

Apparently, for an incident to be considered as an act of domestic terrorism, it must meet a set definition.

Schanzer said for the incident in Moore County to be classified as domestic terrorism, authorities will need to find out the suspects' motivation.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) defines a domestic terrorist attack as acts that occur in the U.S. and appear to intend to intimidate people, influence the policy of the government by intimidation or coercion, or affect the conduct of government 'by mass destruction, assassination or kidnapping.'

Domestic terrorism attacks targeting electric companies rare but not unprecedented

Investigators are leaving no stone unturned in the Moore County power grids attack.

abc11.com

 

[Tillicum]

Does anyone know if there were cameras at the substations? Would be great if there is some potential video evidence.

(I also recall from following the Sidney & Tammy Moorer/Heather Elvis case that the cameras on the substation across from the Moorer house were unfortunately fakes, like the security stickers or signs you put up at your house to make it look like you have an alarm system when you don't actually have one. Hoping these had cameras and that they were operational!)

North Carolina power outage: White House responds amid substation sabotage probe in Moore County

Homeland Security and the National Security Council are monitoring the power outages in North Carolina's Moore County after gunfire damaged critical infrastructure, causing blackouts.

www.foxnews.com

Duke Energy said it was taking a closer look at security measures after the breaches at substations but declined to go into detail about whether security cameras captured the incidents.

 

[Bodhi]

I don't think he is being naïve, he is staying in his lane. You are just assuming this is a terrorist act. He is correctly being careful with his words.

In all the attacks on the electric grid and other infrastructure over the past decade, I can't recall a single instance where a domestic actor claimed credit in recent decades. At least in the attacks that made national or regional news.

No, I am not assuming these attacks were committed for political reasons. Ordinary hooligans or criminals don't call the media to "take credit" for committing a crime. Nor do organized domestic terrorists like the Boston Marathon or Oklahoma City bombers.

Part of my post was deleted. I gave the reasons it seems naive in this specific situation for a chief law enforcement officer to think someone would 'take credit'. I won't repeat it because I respect the moderators here. To stay within TOS, I am all I will say is in light of the national security warning on domestic terrorism issued to local law enforcement on November 28, the time he'd had since the substation attacks on Saturday evening to become familiar with the intelligence if he wasn't already, and the ongoing interaction between his agency and state and federal intelligence agencies, the approach the sheriff took on Monday struck me as unsophisticated or unprofessional. All my opinion.

In addition to the unsolved coordinated attack in California in 2013 and the people who plead guilty this year to preparing to attack the electrical grid that have made headlines, other facilities are detailing unsuccessful attacks.

Memo: Oregon, Washington substations intentionally attacked

“Power companies in Oregon and Washington have reported physical attacks on substations using handtools, arson, firearms and metal chains possibly in response to an online call for attacks on…

www.koin.com

 

[PrairieWind]

In all the attacks on the electric grid and other infrastructure over the past decade, I can't recall a single instance where a domestic actor claimed credit in recent decades. At least in the attacks that made national or regional news.

No, I am not assuming these attacks were committed for political reasons. Ordinary hooligans or criminals don't call the media to "take credit" for committing a crime. Nor do organized domestic terrorists like the Boston Marathon or Oklahoma City bombers.

Part of my post was deleted. I gave the reasons it seems naive in this specific situation for a chief law enforcement officer to think someone would 'take credit'. I won't repeat it because I respect the moderators here. To stay within TOS, I am all I will say is in light of the national security warning on domestic terrorism issued to local law enforcement on November 28, the time he'd had since the substation attacks on Saturday evening to become familiar with the intelligence if he wasn't already, and the ongoing interaction between his agency and state and federal intelligence agencies, the approach the sheriff took on Monday struck me as unsophisticated or unprofessional. All my opinion.

In addition to the unsolved coordinated attack in California in 2013 and the people who plead guilty this year to preparing to attack the electrical grid that have made headlines, other facilities are detailing unsuccessful attacks.

Memo: Oregon, Washington substations intentionally attacked

“Power companies in Oregon and Washington have reported physical attacks on substations using handtools, arson, firearms and metal chains possibly in response to an online call for attacks on…

www.koin.com

I just don't see what the Sheriff should have said different.

 

[steeltowngirl]

I just don't see what the Sheriff should have said different.

You are right, the Sheriff couldn’t say anything differently, as they don’t know who committed the vandalism, or why. Even with full investigation, they may find out who, but may never know the why.

They do know the electric grid has vulnerabilities that must be addressed.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper called the incidents a “criminal attack.” The Democrat said the state will make sure critical services have support.

Cooper told CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer” it is important to find the perpetrators but also to think about preventative measures.

“We need to look forward, to look at how we can harden our electrical grid and make sure that our power sources are protected,” he said, adding the grid “can’t be this vulnerable that someone with knowledge of how to disable the electrical system could come in and actually do that in a very short amount of time.”
[…]

CNN National Security Analyst Juliette Kayyem said the fact that the shooting was “targeted enough to bring down two different facilities” probably has investigators looking at an “insider threat.”

“They will be looking at the potential that there was either casing or someone who knew the area, knew the facilities and knew exactly where to shoot,” she said on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper.” “These aren’t drive-by incidents. These are ones in which you’re targeting directly.”

Tens of thousands still in the dark after 'targeted' attacks on North Carolina power 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...

www.cnn.com

 

[citizen_sleuth]

John Miller, Jason Hanna, and Whitney Wild, "Nearly 2 dozen shell casings found in North Carolina electric substation shootings that cut power for thousands, sources say," CNN, 7 December 2022.
<snipped & BBM>
Nearly two dozen shell casings from a high-powered rifle have been recovered from the sites where gunfire disabled two North Carolina electric substations last weekend and left much of a county without electricity service for days, according to law enforcement sources.

While investigators haven’t found a rifle, the casings still could offer critical evidence.

[...]

Bullets recovered from the sites, and the brass shell casings found a short distance away, are the few pieces of physical evidence that investigators have to work with.

Because of the heat generated in a high-powered rifle’s chamber during rapid fire, fingerprints are burned away – and nearly impossible to recover from spent casings. Still, the brass may offer valuable clues.

 

[PrairieWind]

John Miller, Jason Hanna, and Whitney Wild, "Nearly 2 dozen shell casings found in North Carolina electric substation shootings that cut power for thousands, sources say," CNN, 7 December 2022.
<snipped & BBM>
Nearly two dozen shell casings from a high-powered rifle have been recovered from the sites where gunfire disabled two North Carolina electric substations last weekend and left much of a county without electricity service for days, according to law enforcement sources.

While investigators haven’t found a rifle, the casings still could offer critical evidence.

[...]

Bullets recovered from the sites, and the brass shell casings found a short distance away, are the few pieces of physical evidence that investigators have to work with.

Because of the heat generated in a high-powered rifle’s chamber during rapid fire, fingerprints are burned away – and nearly impossible to recover from spent casings. Still, the brass may offer valuable clues.

That is some good news. Hopefully that leads somewhere. Of course, a really clever shooter would clean up his own brass and leave other brass behind, perhaps gathered from a range somewhere. But hopefully, this shooter isn't that smart. If LE have recovered some of the actual bullets, the ATF should be able to tell if they came from those shell casings.