Someone sliced through multiple fiber cables in Southern California on Sunday, knocking out Verizon service for what may be well over 12,000 customers — and neither the company nor any public official will say who did it, how they got access, or why.

This isn't just a phone outage. It's a demonstration that the communications backbone of the nation's second-largest metropolitan area can be taken offline by vandals with basic tools and zero accountability. At a moment when the southern border remains wide open and cartel operations penetrate deeper into American communities, the federal government can't guarantee that a major city's emergency networks stay online. First responders rely on these lines. Ordinary Americans rely on them. And nobody in charge will say who's cutting them — or why.

Verizon confirmed the outages stem from what it called deliberate physical damage to fiber lines. In a statement, the company said: "These are not simple property crimes; they are dangerous disruptions that cut off vital lifelines for our first responders and public safety officials who rely on constant connectivity."

But Verizon refused to specify where the cables were cut or how many customers were actually hit. More than 12,000 users reported outages on Downdetector, the New York Post reported, though the real number impacted is likely far higher — California alone has nearly 8 million Verizon subscribers.

ABC7 Los Angeles reported that affected customers' phones displayed only SOS emergency satellite mode. A line of desperate customers stretched out the door at a Verizon store in North Hollywood, only to be told there was nothing the company could do — and then the store closed in their faces. "They're charging us x amount of money each month, and then they do this. It's unprofessional, unacceptable," customer Jovan Jordan told ABC7.

The New York Post framed the incident within a broader pattern of infrastructure attacks: AT&T has battled copper thieves slicing through utility poles in rural Sonoma County, and T-Mobile went dark for thousands across multiple states just two weeks ago. ABC7, meanwhile, noted that New York and Philadelphia also reported Verizon outages Saturday — though Verizon claimed that earlier disruption was resolved. Whether those incidents connect to the Southern California vandalism remains unexplained.

One X user directed blame at Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman: "God forbid there's an emergency and we can't call for help because of the failed state you perpetuate."

Someone cut the lines. Someone knows who. And until the people running this country can answer basic questions about who is attacking American infrastructure — and secure a border through which criminal networks operate with impunity — every customer staring at an SOS screen has a right to ask what, exactly, the government is securing if not this.