N.C. Power Substation Sabotage Affecting Schools, Hospital
The North Carolina power outage has prompted the closing of schools. A hospital also had to switch to a backup generator.
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Moore, North Carolina – Moore County Schools were closed on Monday after Saturday’s vandalism of two Duke Energy substations, leaving about 45,000 residents without power amid temperatures that dropped below freezing.
The sabotage happened Saturday night when someone intentionally opened fire on the power stations, causing millions of dollars of damage, reports ABC11. Officials say the power could be out in the area for several days, reports WCCB.
Moore County Schools have yet to determine if classes will remain cancelled on Tuesday. Those decisions will be made on a day-by-day basis, reports the News Observer.
The outage also affected Moore Regional Hospital, which had to switch to a backup generator. A spokesperson for the hospital said the facility hasn’t experienced any issues or concerns and has enough fuel to operate the generator for several days.
The power outage is being investigated as a criminal act. The FBI and SBI are investigating.
Authorities are also investigating the motive for the attack. Some social media posts suggested it was in response to a drag show that took place in the area, and authorities are investigating to determine if there is a link, reports ABC11.
Until power can be restored, a 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew has been imposed for the affected areas.
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About the Author
Robin Hattersley, Editor-in-Chief
Robin has been covering the security and campus law enforcement industries since 1998 and is a specialist in school, university and hospital security, public safety and emergency management, as well as emerging technologies and systems integration. She joined CS in 2005 and has authored award-winning editorial on campus law enforcement and security funding, officer recruitment and retention, access control, IP video, network integration, event management, crime trends, the Clery Act, Title IX compliance, sexual assault, dating abuse, emergency communications, incident management software and more. Robin has been featured on national and local media outlets and was formerly associate editor for the trade publication Security Sales & Integration. She obtained her undergraduate degree in history from California State University, Long Beach.
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