New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy says the dozens of drones flying across the state don’t appear to pose a public safety concern.
According to the Associated Press, dozens of mysterious drones have been spotted across the Garden State in recent weeks which residents say are bigger than those usually flown by hobbyists.
On Monday, during an unrelated bill signing event, Governor Murphy mentioned that 49 reports of drones on Sunday, mainly in Hunterdon County, could possibly just be New Jerseyans accidentally reporting the same drone more than once.
“This is something we’re taking deadly seriously. I don’t blame people for being frustrated,” Murphy said, per the AP.
The news agency also reports that drones are legal in New Jersey for recreational and commercial use. However, all drones are subject to local and Federal Aviation Administration regulations, flight restrictions, with operators requiring an FAA certification.
During a meeting on Wednesday morning at the New Jersey State Police headquarters, representatives from the Department of Homeland Security shot down speculation that the drones were from a foreign adversary.
"There is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States, and there's no so-called mothership launching drones towards the United States," said Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh during the meeting, per ABC News.
"We're going to continue to monitor what is happening," she added. "At no point were our installations threatened when this activity was occurring."
Without any answers for their many questions and concerns, a Facebook group called “New Jersey Drones — let’s solve it” was formed, attracting over 22,000 members committed to sharing sightings, information, and resources.
According to NorthJersey.com, Steven Speeney, a Somerset County educator and admin for the Facebook group, said he is filtering spam posts and deleting “obvious planes, reflections, and blurry videos” to keep the page “neat and tidy for the FBI.”
Drone activity was first reported by Morris County officials in mid-November, with additional sightings being reported in North and Central Jersey counties, along with some shore areas in South Jersey.
Flight restrictions have been put in place in several locations in the state including military research facilities in Jefferson and Rockaway, and a golf club in Bedminster owned by President-elect Donald Trump.
