The drones have been spotted in eight New Jersey counties and recently spread to parts of New York City and suburbs of Philadelphia. The FBI even set up a designated tip line last week that got more than 3,000 reports of sightings, but neither the drones nor a suspected operator have been identified. This has led some state officials to call for action at the state level.
Are drones causing a state of emergency in New Jersey?
Answer: No, but some people think they should.
There have been a lot of unidentified drones in New Jersey’s skies lately — so many, in fact, that some people have been calling for a limited state of emergency. State residents began reporting nighttime drone sightings in mid-November, with the number of reports escalating significantly in recent weeks.
The drones have been spotted in eight New Jersey counties and recently spread to parts of New York City and suburbs of Philadelphia. The FBI even set up a designated tip line last week that got more than 3,000 reports of sightings, but neither the drones nor a suspected operator have been identified. This has led some state officials to call for action at the state level.
Twenty-one mayors wrote a joint letter to Gov. Phil Murphy calling for statewide action. Sen. Jon Bramnick called for a “limited state of emergency” and a statewide ban on all drones until the mystery is solved. On a briefing call with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, state police and representatives in Congress, Gov. Murphy stressed that there was “no known threat to the public at this time.”
The drones have been spotted in eight New Jersey counties and recently spread to parts of New York City and suburbs of Philadelphia. The FBI even set up a designated tip line last week that got more than 3,000 reports of sightings, but neither the drones nor a suspected operator have been identified. This has led some state officials to call for action at the state level.
