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Georgia residents report drone sightings
FOX 5 Atlanta is receiving lots of photos and videos from viewers who believe they're seeing mysterious drones flying through the sky. Despite federal officials saying there's no threat to public safety, many residents say it's cause for concern.
ATLANTA - Reports of mysterious drone sightings continue to come in from cities across the United States, including several in and around metro Atlanta. The flying objects were first spotted in the northeastern U.S. the week before Thanksgiving, and have since captivated the nation’s curiosity.
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Despite federal officials saying there’s no threat to public safety, some residents believe it’s cause for concern.
"A lot of people are scared and don’t know what’s going on," Cobb County resident Britain Lockhart told FOX 5.
Lockhart says the drones he saw flying over his neighborhood in Cobb County on Friday didn’t look like any he’d seen before.
"What was really weird about them was that they were over 10- to 15-feet wide with flashing lights underneath them, different colors from green to red to blue. It almost looked like it was like a scanning light," he recalled.
U.S. national security officials say many of the reports have been cases of people misidentifying manned aircrafts, like airplanes and helicopters. But police in Boston arrested two men Saturday night for flying a drone near Logan International Airport.
The question Lockhart and many others, including lawmakers, want answered is who is flying them?
Lynne from Douglasville said she accidentally captured a photo of drones flying in formation over Carrollton, Georgia. (Credit: Lynne Coffee)
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"My suspicion about it would be cybersecurity related if anyone is trying to get information by flying over these homes," Lockhart explained.
The federal government and the Biden Administration said there is no threat to public safety.
FBI Atlanta officials issued a statement to FOX 5 Sunday night:
"We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus.
"The FBI, DHS and our federal partners, in close coordination with the New Jersey State Police, continue to deploy personnel and technology to investigate this situation and confirm whether the reported drone flights are actually drones or are instead manned aircraft or otherwise inaccurate sightings."
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A suburban New York airport was temporarily shut down on Friday evening for about an hour due to drone activity. FBI officials say sightings should be reported to local police who have jurisdiction on the ground in the reported area or the FAA.
The Source: This article includes statements from FBI Atlanta and quotes and information from an interview with Cobb County resident Britain Lockhart.