Sniper attack on power substation 4/13

[th3w01f]

Sorry if this is a repost but I wasn't able to turn up anything. I'm sitting in a room in SF and just saw this on the news even though it's almost a year old.

I'm surprised I've never seen anything about this before.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/02/05/272015606/sniper-attack-on-calif-power-station-raises-terrorism-fears
(http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/02/05/272015606/sniper-attack-on-calif-power-station-raises-terrorism-fears)

The attack began just before 1 a.m. on April 16 last year, when someone slipped into an underground vault not far from a busy freeway and cut telephone cables. "Within half an hour, snipers opened fire on a nearby electrical substation. Shooting for 19 minutes, they surgically knocked out 17 giant transformers that funnel power to Silicon Valley. A minute before a police car arrived, the shooters disappeared into the night.

[Gman]

A lot of these transformers are liquid cooled and insulated. Drain them by punching holes in them, and bad things happen.

I'm not sure any of this would classify the shooters as "snipers", but it's alarming and that's what media likes.

[islandermyk]

Is this the one where they found'em 7.62x39 shells?

Really? Snipers? Media to dumb... shooter at 100 yards is a sniper now... [facepalm]

[MarkCO]

Snipers don't leave brass, don't use 7.62x39 and stand off a lot more than 100 yards. Could be lots of things, but they were not snipers.

[BuffCyclist]

shooter at 100 yards is a sniper now... [facepalm]

If that's the case, then I must be a super-sniper because I shoot my 22LR rifle at 200yds [LOL]

[th3w01f]

I'm not sure any of this would classify the shooters as "snipers", but it's alarming and that's what media likes.

I was thinking the exact same thing but I wanted to keep the title inline with the articles. :) If it went down like they said it is pretty interesting that the perpetrators were either well prepared or that lucky with their timing.

[MarkCO]

This could be some trust fund kid that plays too much COD who just got an AK...or a probe attack. No matter, I hope they catch a break and nail whoever it is.

[Gman]

This could be some trust fund kid that plays too much COD who just got an AK C&R SKS...or a probe attack. No matter, I hope they catch a break and nail whoever it is.
FIFY.

[th3w01f]

Someone is getting concerned.


AT&T has offered a $250,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the damage done to its cables near the substation

[blacklabel]

I think there's something to it beyond some kid out being a dumbass. They spent a fair amount of time and fired more than what just a few potshots.

[th3w01f]

I think there's something to it beyond some kid out being a dumbass. They spent a fair amount of time and fired more than what just a few potshots.

I agree; I think the police and whoever else was involved in the investigation thought it would be easy to solve but after almost a year of nothing there's now a 250K reward from "ATT" because of damage to their equipment.

[MarkCO]

100 rounds takes me about 30 seconds. Their hit factor, even at 100 yards, was only 17% on fairly large targets. Sounds like potshots to me.

[th3w01f]

100 rounds takes me about 30 seconds. Their hit factor, even at 100 yards, was only 17% on fairly large targets. Sounds like potshots to me.

I don't know what the actual targets were; it says 17 transformers were knocked out but that doesn't mean each only took one bullet. Maybe someone with more knowledge can comment on what it would take to shut down a transform in that timeframe. If it's one bullet our power grid is in more trouble than I thought. :)


Maybe someone with more knowledge can comment on what it would take to shut down a transform in that timeframe.

On second thought, they probably shouldn't provide the info.

[blacklabel]

100 rounds takes me about 30 seconds. Their hit factor, even at 100 yards, was only 17% on fairly large targets. Sounds like potshots to me.

Maybe it's just because I'm not the type to do this, but I don't see someone wanting to vandalize taking that many shots at that many targets. I picture something more akin to putting a few rounds through a stop sign and then driving off.

[MarkCO]

I know a bit about them, as well as propane tanks installations. I have worked on three contracts mandated by HMS to evaluate "snipers" shooting "high risk targets of opportunity". There were three tasks. 1. Determine the target vulnerability to small arms fire, up to 50 BMG. 2. Determine the damage potential to the target. 3. Create ERPs for the facility and local first responders based on 1 and 2.

1 was kind of interesting, 2 was great fun, 3 scared the clients. But I do know better than to discuss any results on a forum. :)

[MarkCO]

Maybe it's just because I'm not the type to do this, but I don't see someone wanting to vandalize taking that many shots at that many targets. I picture something more akin to putting a few rounds through a stop sign and then driving off.

Google "windows shot out with BB gun" and see how many hits you get just in Colordo. There are about 50 cases a year in Colorado with numbers from 2 or 3, up into the 100s. Often, 20-40. There was one in the south a few years ago with over 200 windows shot out in one night. They catch a lot of them, but some they never do. Paintball guns at cars is another one. For some, it becomes addictive and they keep going up in volume and in weapon system until they get caught or killed.

[TheBelly]

If that's the case, then I must be a super-sniper because I shoot my 22LR rifle at 200yds [LOL]

Redacted.

[DSB OUTDOORS]

My neighbor was telling me about this. That's Fd-up. 7.69x39? really. Not precision ammo IMHO!! Armatures at best.

[th3w01f]

My neighbor was telling me about this. That's Fd-up. 7.69x39? really. Not precision ammo IMHO!! Armatures at best.

I don't know about that. I'm not saying it required any special skills with a rifle but look at just about every major terrorist event in the last 20+ years. Do you think the terrorist in Kenya felt inadequate with AKs?

[cableguy11]

A little light reading...Amazing what you can get off the internet...

http://www.wecc.biz/compmtg/20131022/Lists/Presentations/1/Updated%20EOP-004-2_WF_v2%2000_c.pdf

[th3w01f]

A little light reading...Amazing what you can get off the internet...

http://www.wecc.biz/compmtg/20131022/Lists/Presentations/1/Updated%20EOP-004-2_WF_v2%2000_c.pdf

Ok, now I'm even more worried. [panic]

[BPTactical]

Hood Rats playin wit deys choppas......

[th3w01f]

40495

[hollohas]

This was not drunk rednecks shooting at things. It was planned and strategic. They cut very specific lines in an underground vault before the shooting began. The lines they cut shutdown phones and internet in the area including 911 service. I have been following this since it happened.

[roberth]

Old news, shows how vulnerable the grids (power and telecom) are.

I'm surprised the jihadis or nature nazis haven't hit more of these facilities.

[KevDen2005]

http://www.debbieschlussel.com/69187/terrorists-attacked-major-power-grid-in-san-jose-dress-rehearsal-fbi-nothing-to-see-here/

I know lots of people seem to be caught up on the use of the word, "Sniper." We get it, they weren't snipers. But I added an additional article to the others to show another aspect. Possibly a terrorist attack.

[Gman]

The government doesn't do anything well, other than wasting our tax dollars. Our borders aren't secure.

Yeah, we're vulnerable as hell. It doesn't take a rocket surgeon to figure out how to hit us where it hurts.

[merl]

from the FP article linked from the NPR story

A shooter "could get 200 yards away with a .22 rifle and take the whole thing out," Wellinghoff said last month at a conference sponsored by Bloomberg (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-20/rifle-toting-terrorists-pose-great-threat-to-power-grid.html). His proposed defense: A metal sheet that would block the transformer from view. "If you can't see through the fence, you can't figure out where to shoot anymore," Wellinghoff said. Price tag? A "couple hundred bucks." A lot cheaper than the billions the administration has spent in the past four years beefing up cyber security of critical infrastructure in the United States and on government computer networks.

He is talking about those metal strips that slide into a chain link fence. We're not even trying and when we do it is wasteful crap. The fact that we aren't even trying and little is happening (anything out there other than this that is not metal thieves?) says this is not a threat. Sure, do the cheap & easy stuff but this is not cause for concern.

[JohnnyEgo]

I'd place about equal money on current/former disgruntled employee(s) as terrorist, foreign or domestic.
I don't see a trust fund kid climbing down into a cable trunk, and the damage appears to be both targeted and specialized.

[Brass]

51,000 gallon spill!!!! Does anyone have a repair cost estimate?

[merl]

51,000 gallon spill!!!! Does anyone have a repair cost estimate?

Considering AT&T is offering $250k just for info on the cut fiber I'm gonna go with a hell of alot. Two transformers, cut fiber, then the ancillary costs of shutting down the substation.

[Gman]

With the CA environmental laws, that cleanup had to be very expensive, including removal of the contaminated soil.

[streetglideok]

Could easily have been a test by terrorists to determine the response from such an attack, and the impact an attack like that would have. Now imagine several hundred of them retards attacking hundreds of substations across the country, all at once.

[spqrzilla]

I think eco-terrorists who expected more impact.

[ben4372]

This is true, but you cant really do anything about it. Usually it's drunks or dumb people. The number of lines that needed fixing because some one was celebration New Years or the 4th of July. Firearms style. My favorite was a fiber cut when copper theft was all the rage. Turns out bums cant scrap fiber. We're all mostly at the mercy of people just not doing it. How did he get that many rounds off with all the gun laws?

[Limited GM]

How many non professional people wouldn't sell out their beer buddy for $250,000? I'd wager very few.

[rbeau30]

It probably was some drunks or dumb people.... But all the publicity it caused will befinately now give terrorists an idea if they had not planned for this in the first place.

[davsel]

http://www.debbieschlussel.com/69187/terrorists-attacked-major-power-grid-in-san-jose-dress-rehearsal-fbi-nothing-to-see-here/

I know lots of people seem to be caught up on the use of the word, "Sniper." We get it, they weren't snipers. But I added an additional article to the others to show another aspect. Possibly a terrorist attack.

I suppose we will now see the utility companies purchasing millions of rounds of ammo.

From the link:

Mr. Wellinghoff, then chairman of FERC, said that after he heard about the scope of the attack, he flew to California, bringing with him experts from the U.S. Navy’s Dahlgren Surface Warfare Center in Virginia, which trains Navy SEALs. After walking the site with PG&E officials and FBI agents, Mr. Wellinghoff said, the military experts told him it looked like a professional job. In addition to fingerprint-free shell casings, they pointed out small piles of rocks, which they said could have been left by an advance scout to tell the attackers where to get the best shots. “They said it was a targeting package just like they would put together for an attack,” Mr. Wellinghoff said. . . .

A spokesman for Homeland Security said it is up to utilities to protect the grid. The department’s role in an emergency is to connect federal agencies and local police and facilitate information sharing, the spokesman said.