A spate of mysterious drone sightings have been reported in New York and Philadelphia because the FBI continues investigating comparable sightings throughout New Jersey over the previous month.
Since mid-November, native residents in a number of counties in New Jersey have reported seeing clusters of drones – and in current days, extra drone sightings have been reported in components of Pennsylvania and New York’s Staten Island.
Native residents within the areas have been capturing and sharing footage on-line that seems to point out drones within the sky.
Final week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Newark workplace introduced it was actively investigating these sightings and was looking for data from the general public.
“Witnesses have noticed the cluster of what look to be drones and a potential mounted wing plane,” the FBI stated. “Now we have reviews from the general public and regulation enforcement courting again a number of weeks.”
Whereas authorities examine the reviews, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has applied momentary flight restrictions within the areas over Picatinny Arsenal navy base and Trump Nationwide Golf Membership Bedminster.
The origin of the drones stays unknown. Nevertheless, state leaders and elected officers have stated that they’re monitoring the sightings and have assured residents that the drones don’t pose any rapid menace to the general public.
In a publish on social media final week, Phil Murphy, New Jersey’s governor, stated that he convened with officers from the Division of Homeland Safety in addition to native authorities and officers in New Jersey to debate the reported drone exercise.
“We’re actively monitoring the state of affairs and in shut coordination with our federal and regulation enforcement companions on this matter,” the governor stated. He added: “There isn’t any recognized menace to the general public at the moment.”
Final week, an FBI spokesperson advised native New Jersey outlet, NJ.com: “Sadly, we don’t have many solutions, and we don’t wish to guess or hypothesize about what’s occurring.”
“We’re doing all we are able to to determine it out,” they added.
On Monday, a gaggle of 20 mayors in Morris county, New Jersey, reportedly wrote a letter to the state’s governor requesting a full investigation into the origin and goal of the drones, in response to CBS Information, which obtained a replica of the letter.
Additionally they referred to as for improved communication with residents and regulation enforcement, amongst different issues.
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Within the letter, the mayors stated that they’ve “deep concern concerning the continuing nighttime drone flights” and that the drones have “raised vital alarm among the many greater than 500,000 county residents and native officers alike”.
In response to reviews of drones over Staten Island’s airspace, the congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis stated she requested the FAA to impose momentary drone flight restrictions within the space and had requested rapid briefings from the homeland safety division and FBI.
Two weeks in the past, drones flying in New Jersey reportedly prevented a medical helicopter from choosing up an injured particular person after a automobile crash, in response to USA Right now.
The police chief of Florham Park, New Jersey, Joseph Orlando, stated in a assertion on social media final week that a number of drone sightings had been reported above “crucial infrastructure comparable to water reservoirs, electrical transmission traces, rail stations, police departments and navy installations.
“Members of the native regulation enforcement group have been pressuring our companions for solutions concerning this exercise as their presence round our crucial infrastructure is regarding,” the assertion reads. “Whereas we at the moment don’t have any proof or data to point these drones pose an imminent menace at the moment, their presence seems nefarious in nature.”
Within the assertion, authorities urged all residents to stay vigilant and report any drone sightings on to the FBI.
