For the last month, New Jerseyans have reported odd lights in the sky at night, a rash of reported drone sightings that has attracted the attention of local residents. These photos were taken on Dec. 8 in Toms River, N.J. © USA TODAY photo illustration; photos by Doug Hood/Asbury Park Press / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
(New York, NY) — Police departments all across the Tri-State area say they were inundated with reports of drones in the nighttime skies over the weekend. Tyrone Corbett lives in West Orange, New Jersey and he says he spent an hour recording objects flying near his home.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says he is not be overly concerned about the surge in drone sightings, and says Americans shouldn’t be either. He says new rules allow more drones to fly at night, and that accounts for the sightings everywhere. Mayorkas says the Department of Homeland Security doesn’t know of any foreign involvement in recent drone sightings, but Governor Kathy Hochul says she is worried, especially after drones flew too close to Stewart Airport in Orange County over the weekend, shutting it down for a while.
The New Jersey Division of Fire Safety is instructing firefighters statewide to stay away from downed drones and to notify the bomb squad if they encounter one. So far, there’s no evidence of any downed drones. It’s a federal crime to shoot them down. The FBI continues to lead the investigation into the sightings.
