Apparent Incursion on US Nuclear Facility Foiled, Suspect Apprehended After Dangerous

With the world on edge, every potentially menacing incident assumes heightened significance.

According to NBC News, a man drove a silver Toyota Camry through the gate of the Oconee Nuclear Station in Oconee County, South Carolina, shortly after 8 p.m. on Thursday .

The suspect — who is reportedly in custody as of Friday afternoon, per WHNS — fortunately got no further.

Duke Energy owns and operates the nuclear station. Spokesperson Mikayla Kreuzberger described both the incident and the station’s extensive security measures.

“A vehicle entered an administrative gate, but was not able to access the plant due to our multiple layers of security,” Kreuzberger said. “Advanced surveillance equipment and physical intrusion barriers consisting of concrete structures and razor wire surround the site.”

The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office then sprang into action after receiving a call around 8:05 p.m.

“After the vehicle struck the pop-up barricades that security at the plant activated, the driver backed the vehicle up and proceeded down a dirt road, where Duke Energy security blocked the vehicle in, according to deputies. The driver then drove through a fence after attempting to hit the security officers,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a press release according to Fox News.

From there, confusion and chaos erupted as a dangerous situation swiftly developed.

“After driving back onto Highway 183, the driver then drove into Pickens County and pulled onto some property on Jones Mill Road, where shots were fired,” the Sheriff’s Office said according to NBC News. “At this time, the source of the shots fired in the Jones Mill Road area is unknown.”

The suspect had driven a silver 2002 Toyota Camry with an Arkansas license plate: 380VDR.

At this point, speculation about the man’s motives would have little value.

Nonetheless, his attempt to breach security at a nuclear power plant sounded an alarm that would not have sounded as recently as a month ago. In the context of Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre in southern Israel, this thwarted incursion reminds us of our deepening vulnerabilities.

FBI Director Christopher Wray, for instance, told Congress on Tuesday that the terror threat has reached “a whole other level.”

Likewise, U.S. Special Forces veteran Tim Kennedy appeared Thursday on Joe Rogan’s podcast and warned of impending Hamas-style attacks.

“We’re gonna have a real bad year,” Kennedy told Rogan.

Above all, Kennedy feared an event that could dwarf the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre. He noted, for instance, the number of military-age males and others on FBI and Department of Homeland Security terror watch lists who already have crossed President Joe Biden’s open border.

Americans do not live in fear. They do, however, understand reality.

They know — or they should know — that the Biden administration has no interest in securing America’s southern border. The president — for reasons we can only guess — has allowed this crisis to unfold.

Thus, if trouble comes, Americans have no reason to expect help from federal officials.

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Michael Schwarz holds a Ph.D. in History and has taught at multiple colleges and universities. He has published one book and numerous essays on Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Early U.S. Republic. He loves dogs, baseball, and freedom. After meandering spiritually through most of early adulthood, he has rediscovered his faith in midlife and is eager to continue learning about it from the great Christian thinkers.

Michael Schwarz holds a Ph.D. in History and has taught at multiple colleges and universities. He has published one book and numerous essays on Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Early U.S. Republic. He loves dogs, baseball, and freedom. After meandering spiritually through most of early adulthood, he has rediscovered his faith in midlife and is eager to continue learning about it from the great Christian thinkers.