Blumenthal: Shoot down drones over CT and NJ

FAIRFIELD – A U.S. senator and state senator agree that the federal government with help from local agencies should do something about the reports of numerous drone sightings near the town’s main train station.

The drones, which are reportedly as large as cars sporting red and green lights, have been spotted high up in the sky near the Fairfield train station Thursday, Dec. 12, with at least one resident on Facebook posting a video.

In her X post, Lucy Biggers states: “I saw five drones over the Fairfield Connecticut train station tonight at 6:45 p.m. No one else noticed them because unless you’re looking for them they just look like a plane or a drone! But I swear these were something different.”

Similar posts on X described similar sightings near Temecula and San Diego in California near military bases as well as McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey.

The Associated Press has reported U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut calling for the mysterious drones spotted flying at night over sensitive areas in New Jersey and other parts of the Mid-Atlantic region to be “shot down, if necessary.”

“We should be doing some very urgent intelligence analysis and take them out of the skies, especially if they’re flying over airports or military bases,” Blumenthal said Thursday, as concerns about the drones spread across Capitol Hill.

“I agree with U.S. Sen. Blumenthal, who advocates for shooting drones down, if necessary, to get answers and accountability,” state Sen. Tony Hwang of Fairfield said. “It’s very unsettling to public safety and security, both here in Fairfield and elsewhere.”

“What we have is a lack of information at all levels of government,” he added. “It’s really a breakdown of communication. Without that vital communication, you lose the public’s confidence, you get speculation and you get fear.”

The Pentagon says any action taken against drones is a decision for local law enforcement. As state legislators, Hwang said.

State police told NBC CT that they have been monitoring all Unmanned Aircraft System flights in the area and have, and will continue to, report all suspicious flights to federal and local law enforcement.

Meanwhile, John Kirby, the White House spokesman on national security matters, told reporters Thursday in response to those sightings that Homeland Security, the FBI and local law enforcement “have not been able to corroborate any of the reported visual sightings” of the drones, NBC News reported.