Boy shoots transmission line, causes power outage

North Florida boy shoots transmission line with rifle, causes power outage for 6,000

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Published On: Jan 02 2013 05:22:21 PM EST

OCALA, Fla. (AP) — A 12-year-old north Florida boy shot a high-powered rifle and hit a 69,000-volt transmission line, causing almost 6,000 customers in Lynne, Silver Springs Shores, Silver Springs and Ocklawaha to lose service for several hours.

The Ocala Star-Banner reports that the Clay Electric Co-op said the outage began at about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday and lasted for about five hours.

The Marion County Sheriff's Office has classified the incident as accidental, since the boy claimed he was shooting the rifle at tree limbs and was not targeting the transmission line.

Clay Electric serves approximately 165,000 members in 14 counties including Marion.

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