Deputies say suspect drove through nuclear station’s gate, tried to hit security officers with car

OCONEE COUNTY, S.C. (FOX Carolina/Gray News) - The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office said deputies are investigating following an incident at the Oconee Nuclear Station Thursday night.

Deputies said they responded to the plant at around 8:05 p.m. after someone reported that a car had driven through the exit side of the gate on the part of the facility facing Highway 183.

According to deputies, once the driver hit the pop-up barricades that plant security activated, they backed the vehicle up and went down a dirt road where Duke Energy security members blocked the car in.

Deputies stated that the driver then drove through a fence after trying to hit the security officers there. There, the driver drove out of the plant’s exit, where he tried to hit a security member’s truck before going back onto Highway 183 and onto a property on Jones Mill Road, where shots were fired. Deputies added that they are currently unsure what the source of the gunshots was.

None of the security staff was injured, Duke Energy said.

The same car showed up an hour before trying to crash through the gate, and the driver was asked to leave, deputies said.,

Deputies said they are currently searching for this suspect. They described his car as a 2002 Toyota Camry that has a license plate from Arkansas with tag number 380VDR.

Anyone with information about this car or the driver is asked to call 911 immediately.

The Oconee Nuclear Station has three nuclear reactors and started generating power 50 years ago on Lake Keowee.

The plant continues to operate safely, officials said.

“Duke Energy has comprehensive security plans and a well-trained security workforce in place. A vehicle entered an administrative gate, but was not able to access the plant due to our multiple layers of security,” Duke Energy said in statement.

Copyright 2023 WHNS via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.