A State of Emergency is in effect in Moore County after a massive power outage caused by damage to substations by firearms. Full story: https://www.wral.com/20612201/ A State of Emergency is in effect in Moore County after a massive power outage caused by damage to substations by firearms. A Duke Energy outage map Saturday evening showed 37,998 customers without power in Moore County; The Randolph Electric Membership Corporation also reported nearly 3,000 customers without power in the southern part of the county. As of Sunday at 3 p.m. 44,657 people are without power, according to a Duke Energy outage map. WRAL viewers began calling in to report outages around 8 p.m. Saturday. The outages for Duke remain unchanged, and power isn't expected to be restored until Sunday night or later. Jeff Brooks with Duke Energy said crews are experiencing "multiple equipment failures" that are affecting substations in Moore County. "We are actively investigating signs of potential vandalism related to the outages," Brooks said. Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said just before midnight that the outage was being investigated as a "criminal occurrence." "We faced something last night in Moore County we've never faced before," said Fields at a press conference Sunday. Fields said that crews at the substations found "extensive damage" when inspecting the equipment; He also said that there was evidence that firearms had been used to disable the equipment. Fields said the Moore County Sheriff's Office is working with state and local law enforcement and will continue to investigate the incident. When asked if this was an incident of domestic terrorism Fields replied, "I can't answer that," but added "This was targeted. It wasn't random."Fields said Moore County sheriff’s deputies and various other law enforcement agencies provided additional site security Saturday as utility crews worked. Anyone with any information should contact the Moore County Sheriff’s Office at 910-947-2931. A State of Emergency was declared in Moore county Sunday at 4:00 p.m and a curfew is in place from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m At the press conference Sunday, Brooks said Duke Energy is continuing to work around the clock on the outages, but said due to the extent and nature of the damage restoration could take days. The Southern Pines Police Department has opened its community room to the public to charge their electronic devices. The police department is located at 450 W. Pennsylvania Ave. Moore County schools said Sunday that although a few schools did have power in the northern parts of the county, all schools were affected by the outage; All Moore County Schools will be closed Monday, December 5, for students and staff. Moore County schools said an announcement will be made Monday evening to inform parents and staff of the status of schools for Tuesday. The Village of Pinehurst sent out a police alert Saturday: "Additional officers have been called in to assist. Please stay off the roads if you can and treat all intersections as four way stops." Saturday night, WRAL News crew arrived at the Walmart in Aberdeen to find a massive police presence. The crew was quickly instructed to leave by authorities who said it wasn't safe. Fields said Sunday this Walmart incident was the result of someone attempting to shoplift during the outage. Subscribe to WRAL: https://youtube.com/c/wral5 Follow WRAL: Facebook: https://facebook.com/WRALTV Twitter: https://twitter.com/WRAL IG: https://instagram.com/wral About WRAL-TV: WRAL is your Raleigh, North Carolina news source. Check out our videos for the latest news in Raleigh, local sports, Raleigh weather, and more at https://WRAL.com #localnews #northcarolina #breakingnews