Spectrum's parent company calls attack on fiber lines in Van Nuys an act of 'domestic terrorism'

VAN NUYS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The parent company of Spectrum is now calling last month's attack on its communications network in Van Nuys an act of "domestic terrorism."

Charter Communications says on June 15, thieves cut fiber optic lines, impacting "emergency services, including a U.S. military base, emergency dispatch and 911 communication services, local fire and police departments, financial institutions, court buildings, healthcare facilities and hospitals, educational institutions, as well as cell towers providing mobile services."

The thieves reportedly cut 13 cables, including more than 2,600 individual fibers. More than 50,000 residential and business customers went without full service for up to 30 hours.

Photos shared by Spectrum last month show the cut wires left behind. The internet provider said it was providing a full day's credit to customers who were affected.

Los Angeles City Councilman John Lee says attacks on communications networks pose a significant threat to national security.

"These criminal attacks on our country's vital communications networks are intentional and cause outages that put lives at risk," said Chris Winfrey, President and CEO of Charter Communications. "This is a pervasive and persistent threat to American families and businesses across the country that cannot be tolerated, and such life-threatening events should be declared acts of domestic terrorism and prosecuted accordingly."

"This requires immediate attention from federal and state legislation classifying these attacks as a felony, dedicated engagement from federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, and swift, aggressive prosecution of those criminals causing the perilous situation that results from these outages," he continued.

Spectrum said it is working with the Los Angeles Police Department, and there is a $25,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.

"Criminal acts of network vandalism have become an issue affecting the entire telecommunications industry, not just Spectrum, largely due to the increase in the price of precious metals. These acts of vandalism are not only a crime, but also affect our customers, local businesses and potentially emergency services. Spectrum's fiber lines do not include any copper," Spectrum said. "We are working with the Los Angeles Police Department on this crime and are offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information on this act of vandalism can contact Spectrum at 833-404-TIPS (8477) or reach out to local law enforcement."