There's a lot of "we don't know anything, so we're going to make this sound as ominous as possible". For example:<p>> Reportedly firing bullets like those used by AK-47s -- an assault weapon favored by terrorists [...]<p>That could mean anything from "we've found 7.62x39 casings with extractor marks in the AK's distinctive pattern", which they probably haven't since they don't mention anyone having found where the "snipers" fired from, to "we've found some .308 Winchester slugs that could've come from any of a thousand different models of lawfully obtainable hunting rifle."<p>Seems a bit over-egging the pudding, to me. I'm not in favor of people wantonly shooting up defenseless power substations, of course, but there's a certain overheated tendency about the coverage I'm seeing that leaves me unfavorably impressed.
Also, Alexis Madrigal brings up the Pynchonian aspect of the attack at <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/02/snipers-coordinated-an-attack-on-the-power-grid-but-why/283620/" rel="nofollow">http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/02/sniper...</a>
This actually happened several years in a rural area where I grew up.<p>Some people shot up transformers at a larger substation. Maybe they expected to see an explosion, fire, or something but just ended up making a hell of a mess (The transformer oil leaked out, and is considered hazmat) and causing a lot of damage ($Millions).<p>They didn't catch those people either. But, I don't recall anyone calling them 'Snipers' or 'domestic terrorists'.