A power outage in North Carolina that has left nearly 40,000 people without electricity was caused by "intentional vandalism," police say

• The power went out in North Carolina on Saturday.

• The power outage is being investigated as a criminal act.

• The sheriff's office said it was caused by intentional damage.

A power outage in North Carolina that left tens of thousands of people without power on Saturday is being investigated as a criminal act of vandalization.

According to a Saturday statement from the Moore County Sheriff's Office, several communities in Moore County lost power on Saturday night. Workers from utility companies were sent to repair electrical substations and found that they had been vandalized.

The chief of the Southern Pines Fire and Rescue Department said that several electrical substations had been damaged by gunfire. The sheriff's office dispatched officers to the areas where the damage occurred to make sure the site was secure.

Around 38,000 customers were affected by the power failure. The total number of Duke Energy customers in Moore County is 47,000.

Many people in the county are still waiting for their electricity to be turned on despite the fact that power has been restored to some homes. Duke Energy doesn't have an estimate on when power will be restored to all of the customers in Moore County, according to a representative.

According to the latest report from Duke Energy, power could be restored to all customers by late Sunday evening.

The person of interest in the case has not been identified by police.

Insider did not get a response from the Moore County Sheriff's Office.

A conservative activist who helped organize a protest against a drag show said she was visited by police on her Facebook page.

Moore said "The power is out in Moore County and I know why" in a Facebook post on Saturday.

Moore thanked the police for coming and wished them a good night, according to The Daily Beast.

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