FBI in Portland, Seattle offer $25K rewards to find vandals who hit Tumwater, Oregon City electrical substations
FBI unsure of motives, but 'we do understand fully their catastrophic potential'
PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The FBI Portland and Seattle field offices offered rewards of up to $25,000 Thursday as the seek the public’s help to identify the individual(s) responsible for vandalism last November at electrical substations in Tumwater, Washington and Oregon City, Oregon.
The FBI is offering the rewards of up to $25,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest, and conviction of the suspect(s) responsible for each of these crimes, according to their announcement, which continues in full below:
On November 22, 2022, in the early morning hours, Puget Sound Energy discovered an incident at the Barneslake Substation in Tumwater, Washington. Fluid was leaking on the ground after one of the radiators of transformers had been punctured multiple times and caused the substation to go offline for several hours. Three 9 mm shell casings were located. The outage resulted in loss of power to 5,200 individuals.
On November 24, 2022, shortly before 2:00 a.m., several reactors were shot at the Bonneville Power Administration Ostrander Substation in Oregon City, Oregon. Investigators found a hole cut in the perimeter fence of the energized yard and discovered bullet holes in several reactors.
“Attacks on power grid substations have gripped our nation's attention in recent months because of the devastating threat they pose to our infrastructure. Entire communities - hospitals, schools, and local businesses - might conceivably be incapacitated for many days," said Kieran L. Ramsey, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Portland Field Office.
"The FBI continues to work diligently not only to identify and arrest those responsible for these wanton acts but also to disrupt any future criminal plots which might wreak even greater havoc to our community.
"Presently, we remain unclear on the motive for their actions. However, we do understand fully their catastrophic potential. Consequently, apprehension of those responsible must be a top priority for law enforcement and this is why we are now urgently requesting our citizens' help in identifying those responsible."
“Interfering or tampering with our power grid can have deadly consequences.” said Richard A. Collodi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Seattle field office. “An attack like this is not just an inconvenience for home and business owners, think of medical facilities or vulnerable people who depend on electricity for their health. It’s our hope that by attaching a reward offer, someone who has that missing piece of information we need may be enticed to come forward.”
Anyone with information is asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), contact their local FBI office, or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov. You may remain anonymous.
