Mysterious drones spotted in Virginia
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U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer said Sunday he's working to pass a bill to give local law enforcement "more tools for drone detection" following a spate of mysterious sightings on the East Coast.
Why it matters: Reports of these mysterious drones started coming in from Virginia last week.
Catch up quick: Suspicious drone sightings started last month in central New Jersey, then spread to New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maryland and Virginia.
- Federal investigators have received over 3,000 tips from the public, the FBI said last week.
- They drones are most likely planes, the White House said last week, and there's no evidence they're a security threat.
- "We know of no foreign involvement with respect to the sightings in the Northeast," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told ABC News' "This Week" on Sunday.
The latest: Last week, sightings were reported in Virginia Beach and across Southwest Virginia, from Roanoke to Floyd.
- In Virginia Beach, two people reported seeing aircraft "unlike any other they've seen" on Thursday night near two military installations, per the Virginian Pilot.
- In Southwest Virginia, multiple people shared incidents of possible mystery drones on social media last week, per television stations there.
- Those reports prompted Gov. Youngkin to echo the governors in Northeastern states in calling for more information from federal agencies.
What they're saying: "I remain deeply concerned that Virginia has consistently sought information from federal partners, and to date, the information shared with the Commonwealth has been insufficient," Youngkin said in a statement Saturday.
What's next: Anyone who sees a suspicious drone can report it to the Virginia Fusion Center at [email protected] or 877-4VA-TIPS, Youngkin said.