Tens of thousands of NC residents will be without electricity after weekend gun attack on power grid

Tens of thousands of North Carolina resident will be without electricity for several days as a result of a weekend attack in which two substations were damaged by gunfire, authorities said Monday.

The impacted resident are in the state's Monroe County.

State, federal and local officials are investigating what they call an apparent criminal attack on critical infrastructure Friday night, according to the Associated Press.

Utility companies said power may not be completely restored until Thursday. 

Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said Sunday a person breached the substations and opened fire. A motivation is unclear, but he said the attacks were not random.

Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper said: "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."

Nearly 45,000 people in the area were without power starting on Friday evening, according to data from Duke Energy. The number dropped slightly by noon Monday to roughly 35,000 customers affected. 

Businesses in county, located southwest of Raleigh, on Monday handed out free food and warm drinks, and officials erected temporary stop signs. County schools are also closed and a countywide curfew of 9 p.m.–5 a.m. is in place.