(UnitedVoice.com) – In early December, vandals opened fire on two electrical substations in Moore County, North Carolina. The incident knocked out power to 45,000 customers and followed six attacks in Washington and Oregon in October. Now, there’s been another reported strike on the nation’s critical infrastructure.
On Christmas day, Washington’s Pierce County Sheriff’s Department issued an alert about an incident at a Tacoma Public Utilities Substation. Vandals forced entry into the area and damaged equipment, causing a power outage. Puget Sound Energy later notified the department that they also experienced a break-in at one of their facilities, and vandals also damaged equipment there.
The sheriff’s department revealed attacks on three substations left about 14,000 customers without electricity.
Burglaries to 3 power substations cause Power Outages in Puyallup and Graham this morning. All 3 substations were vandalized by the burglars. No suspects in custody at this time.
PCSD BLOTTERhttps://t.co/qnkKMftqmH pic.twitter.com/Ol4zb8rWrm
— Pierce Co Sheriff (@PierceSheriff) December 25, 2022
Later that evening, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department issued another alert. This time, law enforcement revealed a fourth attack took place at a Puget Sound Energy facility. Vandals broke into the substation and started a fire, damaging more equipment.
POLITICO reported law enforcement is looking into the possibility that extremists are coordinating the attacks. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chair Richard Glick said he doesn’t think anyone knows whether the incidents relate to a “more sinister” plot that people have planned. However, he admitted, “there’s no doubt that the numbers are up in terms of reported incidents.”
Copyright 2022, UnitedVoice.com
