The Garden State is currently under siege from a drone swarm of unknown origin. The scare reached a boiling point on Sunday when a swarm of a dozen drones tailed a U.S. Coast Guard boat and 50 other drones were sighted flying into New Jersey from the ocean. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy told Congress that he can’t say whether or not the drones pose a threat to the public.
Other politicians want to be a bit more trigger-happy over this situation. Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said that the drone should be “shot down, if necessary,” according to the Associated Press. Chris Smith and Jeff Van Drew, Congresspeople representing districts on the Jersey Shore agreed with Blumenthal. The sightings began last month and haven’t stopped. The size of the drones themselves varies by eyewitness report, ranging from “a car” to “a dining room table.”
The White House noted there hasn’t been any drone sightings in restricted airspace, but that could change soon. The Federal Aviation Administration issued temporary restrictions banning drone flights over Picatinny Arsenal Military Base and Trump National Golf Club Bedminster. The FBI is also investigating the drone swarms, but it doesn’t seem like they are close to any answers when they are asking the public for information.
Why aren’t local police just opening fire on the drones? Officers don’t have the authority to shoot at them. If the day comes when bullets start flying at drones, it will likely be a member of the military pulling the trigger. However, federal agencies need to be sure what’s actually hovering in New Jersey’s skies. The FBI already confirmed that at least one drone sighting was a manned aircraft.