The FBI has issued a warning to the public in the wake of widespread reports that mysterious, unclaimed drones are hovering in the sky above New Jersey and other Northeastern states, possibly searching for something.
The New Jersey State Police and the FBI office in Newark have issued a serious warning to the public, advising them to immediately stop attempting to interact with or shoot down the reported drones.
“We’re seeing an increase in pilots of manned aircraft being hit in the eyes with lasers, because people on the ground think they see a drone,” Nelson Delgado, a special agent in charge of the Newark office, revealed in a video message posted online, according to the Daily Mail.
“We are also concerned that people will take matters into their own hands and fire a weapon at an aircraft,” he said. He warned: “Not only is this act against the law, but it poses an incredible danger to the pilots and the passengers on those aircraft.”
Meanwhile, a recent viral video purporting to show a person in New Jersey shooting a gun at a drone in the night sky has been proven false, but not before garnering millions of views online.
The drone sightings in New Jersey started around November 19.
On December 3, the FBI, in collaboration with the New Jersey State Police, began investigating the sightings and asked the public to report any drone sightings or information about the drones via their tip line or website.
According to ABC News, on December 14, an FBI official revealed that the agency had received nearly 5,000 tips about drone sightings, but that less than 100 of them “generated credible leads for further investigation.”
AP News reports. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has asked Congress to give states “more authority” to assess and manage drones.
It is unclear where the drones came from, who owns them, or what their purpose is.
However, as of this writing, both the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security maintain that the drones pose no threat to public safety.
