New Jersey residents have been reporting mysterious nighttime drone activity since November“It’s not two or three a night, it’s 30 or 50 a night,” one Oak Ridge resident told WNBCNew Jersey State Sen. Jon Bramnick is calling for a limited state of emergency “banning all drones” until there is an explanation behind the sightings
Reports of unidentified drones in northern and central New Jersey since last month have prompted a state senator to call for action as some residents call the sightings a little “menacing” and “creepy.”
“The State of New Jersey should issue a limited state of emergency banning all drones until the public receives an explanation regarding these multiple sightings, New Jersey State Sen. Jon Bramnickwho represents Middlesex, Morris, Somerset and Union counties, wrote in a Monday, Dec. 9, post on X.
Bramnick’s suggestion comes amid accounts of mysterious nighttime drone flights over parts of New Jersey since November, according to NJ.com.
Nancy Read, a resident of Mendham, told the outlet that she had seen the drones during the evenings near the Randolph Regional Animal Shelter.
“One is stationery, the others are in and out of the tree line,” Read said. “It’s strange. They’re out there for hours, never during the day.”
Kat Dunbar, of Bedminster, recalled seeing what at first appeared to be a UFO while driving home with her children. Later on, she realized they were drones when they started flying low over her home and have returned every night since.
“In the last week, it became a little bit of a menacing and, like, creepy thing,” Dunbar told The New York Times.
“I’m not a conspiracist by any means,” she added, “but I don’t love the idea of massive drones patrolling where I live.”
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Phil Doyle told NBC affiliate WNBC that he had seen dozens of drones fly over his home in Oak Ridge.
“One goes over and then another,” Doyle said, the news station reported. “It’s not two or three a night, it’s 30 or 50 a night. They have lights on them so you can see them.”
“Why are they suddenly here? What’s the basis for these drones suddenly appearing?” Doyle said. “They’ve been around for a while and now we are getting all this activity, so who’s behind it?”
The string of reported drone sightings has prompted authorities to investigate the matter, but the source of or reason behind the drone flights (and the extent of them) is still unknown — though New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has said “there is no known threat to the public at this time.”
The activity raised additional concerns because of the drones’ nearness to a military installation and President-elect Donald Trump’s Bedminster golf course, according to ABC News.
It also prevented a helicopter from picking up an injured patient in Somerset County, local officials said, NJ.com reported.
On Thursday, Dec. 5, Gov. Murphy wrote in a statement that he had spoken with authorities on the matter, including U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
“Yesterday I convened a briefing with @SecMayorkas, senior officials from @DHSgov, @NJOHSP, and @NJSP, and members of our congressional delegation to discuss reported drone activity over parts of North and Central New Jersey,” Murphy wrote.
“We are actively monitoring the situation and in close coordination with our federal and law enforcement partners on this matter,” he added.
Other law enforcement agencies have responded too, including the Florham Police Departmentwho wrote in a Wednesday, Dec. 4, Facebook post: “While we currently have no evidence or information to indicate these drones pose an imminent threat at this time, their presence appears nefarious in nature.”
In a statement shared on Tuesday, Dec. 3, the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office said “there continues to be no known threat to public safety” from the drone activity,” adding that law enforcement agencies from Morristown and Somerset counties are aware of the situation.
Meanwhile, the FBI’s Newark office said in an advisory that “witnesses have spotted the cluster of what look to be drones and a possible fixed wing aircraft. We have reports from the public and law enforcement dating back several weeks.”
The agency said that those with information related to the possible drone activity to call 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit it online at tips.fbi.gov.
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