A curfew has been imposed in a North Carolina county after what police describe as a targeted attack on two transformers.
More than 40,000 people are without power after two electrical transformer stations were shot down in North Carolina on Saturday, writes buzz feed.
The police are investigating the incident as a criminal act, but don’t know the motive of the shooter.
It is cold in the area and the temperature is expected to drop to zero.
Local schools will be closed on Monday, and possibly longer, Reuters reports.
The FBI and the North Carolina State Police are also involved in the investigation.
– The Charlotte Division of the FBI is investigating this planned damage to the Transformers. We are collaborating with local police and the private companies involved, an FBI statement said.
A major drag show was in the town of Southern Pines when the power went out. The organizers of this have been threatened by right-wing extremists and believe that whoever attacked the feeder was trying to stop this event.
However, the police have no evidence that this theory is true.
Sheriff Ronnie Fields of affected Moore County was asked at a press conference if he considers the whole thing domestic terrorism.
– I can not answer. But it was a targeted attack, this was not accidental, he says according to Reuters.
– He’s a coward. We know nothing, no motive and no group has claimed responsibility. I call them cowards, he told Wral.com.
It was Saturday evening local time when the power went out, affecting both families and businesses. Workers at the facility discovered someone had entered and fired shots.
A spokesman for power company Duke Energy says the damage is so great that the power outage could last until Thursday.
A curfew was introduced in Moore County and a hostel that can accommodate up to 250 people was opened, reports Reuters.
