A person of interest is in custody a day after a man drove a vehicle through security fences at a nuclear power station in South Carolina, authorities said.
The incident occurred at the Oconee Nuclear Station on Thursday night, according to the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office. A man operating a silver 2002 Toyota Camry approached the restricted area twice, though he never accessed the plant, officials said.
The driver also attempted to hit a security truck with a guard in it while exiting the plant, police said.
The person of interest has been identified as Doyle Wayne Whisenhunt, 66, of Lockesburg, Arkansas. He is wanted on drugs and weapons charges out of Arkansas, the sheriff said.
Whisenhunt was taken into custody in Pickens County, the sheriff’s office said Friday evening, several hours after publicly releasing his name. Investigators will be obtaining arrest warrants against him, the sheriff’s office said.
Amid the active search for Whisenhunt, authorities are working to determine if he was the driver of the Toyota Camry.
The motive behind the driver’s actions is unclear at this time, according to the sheriff.
“At this point in our investigation, we don’t have any evidence that this is any type of domestic terroristic event,” the sheriff stated during a press briefing on Friday afternoon.
Potential charges for the suspect apprehended in the incident could include trespassing, malicious injury to property, and possibly attempted murder, the sheriff added.
The driver of the Toyota Camry initially approached the nuclear station on Thursday evening but drove away when security asked him to leave, authorities said. About an hour later, he returned and drove through an administrative gate, the sheriff’s office said.
“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,” a press release from the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office read. “The driver then drove through a fence after attempting to hit the security officers.”
The driver then reportedly drove out of the exit of the plant where he attempted to hit a security truck with a guard in it, police said.
The man drove into Pickens County and pulled onto residential property on Jones Mill Road where shots were subsequently fired, authorities said.
The homeowner told authorities he had fired warning shots, and the suspect drove away, according to the sheriff.
The Toyota Camry was located in Pickens County on Friday afternoon, the sheriff said. It was unoccupied.
The security incident at the nuclear station was reported to authorities around 8:05 p.m. on Thursday, the sheriff’s office said. No one was injured, according to Duke Energy.
The nuclear station is “operating safely,” Duke Energy stated.
“Duke Energy has comprehensive security plans and a well-trained security workforce in place,” the company said in a statement. “A vehicle entered an administrative gate but was not able to access the plant due to our multiple layers of security.”
The FBI said it was aware of the incident but deferred to the local sheriff’s office for any information related to the case.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the overseeing body for nuclear plants in the United States, informed ABC News that the incident was “monitored closely throughout the night” and said Duke Energy proactively informed the commission.
“The plant continues to operate safely, the public remains safe, and all U.S. nuclear power plants are operating at their normal security levels,” a spokesperson stated.
