Two power substations in a North Carolina county were struck by gunfire in what police say is being investigated as a criminal act, causing damage that could take days to repair leaving tens of thousands of people in the dark without electricity.
Moore County officials announced a state of emergency that included a curfew from 9pm on Sunday until 5am on Monday after the outages which began at 7pm.
County schools will also be closed Monday and potentially longer as authorities race to get the power grid up and running.
Moore County investigators have found no evidence or reason to believe that the attack was tied to a controversial drag show in downtown Southern Pines.
‘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,’ Governor Roy Cooper wrote on Twitter.
Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said during a Sunday news conference that authorities have not determined a motive behind the vandalism.
This photos shows the gate to the Duke Energy West End substation in Moore County, North Carolina on Sunday
Duke Energy workers inspect what they said was one of three bullet holes that crippled an electrical substation after the Moore County Sheriff said vandalism caused a power outage
A hole that a Duke Energy worker said was caused by gunfire that crippled an electrical substation is seen in a radiator attached to a transformer
Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said during a Sunday news conference that authorities have not determined a motivation behind the vandalism
The power went out during the Downtown Divas show at the Sunrise Theater about an hour into the show. Prior to the show, a number of protesters and counter-protesters had demonstrated out in front of the theater.
Organizers of the drag show revealed how far-right activists had tried to shut down the event for weeks.
In response to threats of violence, organizers then beefed up security for Saturday’s event with the Southern Pines Police Department monitoring.
One local, Emily Grace Rainey, who is a former Army Captain had posted an invitation to the drag show protest on her Facebook page on Saturday morning, posted on Saturday night, ‘The power is out in Moore County, and I know why.’
Fields said investigators have found no evidence or reason to believe the attack was tied to a controversial drag show in downtown Southern Pines
Organizers of the drag show at the Sunrise Theater in Southern Pines said last week that far-right activists had tried to shut down the event for weeks. The event was cut short after the power went out
Emily Rainey, a former Army Captain posted an invitation to a drag show protest on her Facebook page
One local, Emily Grace Rainey, who had posted an invitation to the drag show protest on her Facebook page on Saturday morning, posted on Saturday night, ‘The power is out in Moore County, and I know why.’
Deputies with the Moore County Sheriff’s Office visited her home within hours of the posting. ‘Sorry they wasted their time. I told them that God works in mysterious ways and is responsible for the outage. I used the opportunity to tell them about the immoral drag show and the blasphemies screamed by its supporters,’ she wrote in the post.
Earlier in the week Emily Grace Rainey had been encouraging people to attend a protest against the the drag show
Supporters of the drag show were seen outside the theater on Saturday evening and were kept apart from those protesting the event
Deputies with the Moore County Sheriff’s Office visited her home within hours of the posting.
‘Sorry, they wasted their time. I told them that God works in mysterious ways and is responsible for the outage. I used the opportunity to tell them about the immoral drag show and the blasphemies screamed by its supporters,’ she wrote in the post.
Rainey served in the Army as a psychological operations officer until 2021 when she left months after leading a group of people from North Carolina to the January 6 rally in Washington that led up to the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump.
Commanders at Fort Bragg initially said that she acted within military regulations and that no one in her group broke the law.
Rainey admitted to leading 100 members of Moore County Citizens for Freedom, which describes itself online as a nonpartisan network promoting conservative values, to the Washington rally to ‘stand against election fraud’ and support Trump.
But even that wasn’t the first time 32-year-old Rainey’s actions have come under scrutiny.
Captain Emily Rainey is pictured. She resigned from the Army last year
The former captain made headlines after she posted a video online of her pulling down caution tape at a playground that closed under North Carolina’s COVID-19 restrictions in May 2020
Rainey took it upon her self to tear down tape at a playground during the pandemic. Police charged her with injury to personal property before letting her off with warnings
In January 2021 the Army investigated Rainey, a psychological operations officer, who led a group of people from North Carolina to the rally in Washington that led to the deadly riot in the U.S. Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump
In May 2020 during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, the former captain made headlines after she posted a video online of her pulling down caution tape at a playground that was closed under North Carolina’s COVID-19 restrictions.
Police charged her with injury to personal property. Officers told WRAL-TV that they let her off with warnings twice before after she tore down the tape closing off the playground.
The Army gave Rainey ‘appropriate administrative action’ for the incident and she submitted her resignation in September 2020.
Duke Energy personnel work to restore power at a second crippled electrical substation after the Moore County Sheriff said that vandalism caused a mass power outage, in Carthage, North Carolina
Barriers designed to absorb oil are placed near a damaged transformer that Duke Energy workers said was hit by gunfire
During Sunday’s press conference Sheriff Fields 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 added.
Utility workers found gates were broken and evidence of gunfire damage to equipment.
Fields said law enforcement is providing security at the substations and for businesses overnight.
‘We will have folks out there tonight around the clock,’ Fields said.
Duke Energy workers gather as they plan how to repair a crippled electrical substation that has left 40,000 homes without power
Gerardo Anicero warms himself in front of a makeshift fire as he watches Duke Energy personnel work to restore power. The work could take several days
Roughly 37,000 electric customers in the county were without power on Sunday night, according to poweroutage.us.
With cold temperatures forecast for Sunday night, the county also opened a shelter at a sports complex in Carthage.
Duke Energy spokesman Jeff Brooks said multiple pieces of equipment were damaged and will have to be replaced. He said while the company is trying to restore power as quickly as possible, he braced customers for the potential of outages lasting days.
‘We are looking at a pretty sophisticated repair with some fairly large equipment and so we do want citizens of the town to be prepared that this will be a multiday restoration for most customers, extending potentially as long as Thursday,’ Brooks said at the news conference.
Duke Energy worked to restore power on Sunday night at crippled electrical substationsin Moore County that the workers said was hit by gunfire
Two holes that a Duke Energy worker said were caused by gunfire that crippled an electrical substation are seen in radiators attached to a transformer
Duke Energy workers talk as they plan how to repair one of crippled electrical substations
Dr. Tim Locklear, the county’s school superintendent, announced classes will be canceled on Monday.
‘As we move forward, we’ll be taking it day by day in making those decisions,’ Locklear said.
The Pilot newspaper in Southern Pines reported that one of its journalists saw a gate to one of the substations had been damaged and was lying in an access road.
‘A pole holding up the gate had clearly been snapped off where it meets the ground. The substation´s infrastructure was heavily damaged,’ the newspaper reported.
The county of approximately 100,000 people lies about an hour’s drive southwest of Raleigh and is known for golf resorts in Pinehurst and other communities.
A Duke Energy worker inspects a transformer radiator. Authorities called it a ‘targeted attack’ although the motive for the Saturday night damage spree wasn’t clear
The incidents are being investigated by local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI
About 64% of Moore County’s electric customers remained without power on Sunday night in a largely rural area of the state 90 miles east of Charlotte
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