North Carolina joins mystery drone conversation – Washington Examiner

“We are actively communicating with federal and local agencies about residents’ reports of drones spotted in eastern North Carolina and are working to find answers,” said U.S. Rep. Don Davis, D-N.C.

The federal government, said national security spokesman John Kirby, hasn’t identified public safety or national security risks. Sightings started in the northeast last month, speculation has intensified, and there’s been little to no explanation.

Reaction has ranged from marvel and wonder to the paraphrase of a number of both Democratic and Republican politicians to “shoot first, ask questions later.”

“There are more than 1 million drones that are lawfully registered with the Federal Aviation Administration,” Kirby said. “And there are thousands of commercial, hobbyist and law enforcement drones that are lawfully in the sky on any given day. That is the ecosystem that we are dealing with.”

That said, federal probes have been started. There have been more than 5,000 reports to the FBI, with roughly 100 drawing investigations, says a joint statement put out by the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Department of Defense.

Published reports of similar sightings exist to the west in California, the Midwest in Minnesota, and even across the Atlantic in England.