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FAA restricts Texas airspace after Pentagon reportedly strikes down Customs and Border Protection drone
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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) restricted flights Thursday near Fort Hancock, Texas, after a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) drone was reportedly shot down by a laser sytem operated by the Pentagon.
While government agencies have not identified who the drone belonged to, top Democrats on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee released a joint statement Thursday evening claiming the drone belonged to CBP.
U.S. Reps. Rick Larsen, Bennie Thompson and Andre Carson said their “heads are exploding over the news” that a CBP drone was shot down by the Pentagon with “a high risk counter-unmanned aircraft system.”
The legislators added that this incident is “the result of [the White House’s] incompetence” after a “short-sighted” decision to “sidestep a bipartisan, tri-committee bill to appropriately train C-UAS operators and address the lack of coordination between the Pentagon, DHS and the FAA.”
The FAA expanded a temporary flight restriction near Fort Hancock, Texas, after lawmakers said a Pentagon-operated counter-drone system may have shot down a U.S. government drone. (iStock)
In a joint statement provided to Fox News Digital, the Department of War, CBP and the FAA said the DOW used counter-unmanned aircraft system to respond to a “seemingly threatening unmanned aerial system operating within military airspace.”
The departments said the engagement took place “far away from populated areas and there were no commercial aircraft in the vicinity,” adding they “will continue to work on increased cooperation and communication to prevent such incidents in the future.”
The departments said they are “working together in an unprecedented fashion to mitigate drone threats by Mexican cartels and foreign terrorist organizations at the U.S.-Mexico border.”
“The bottom line is the Trump Administration is doing more to secure the border and crack down on cartels than any administration in history,” the statement added.
FBI RAMPS UP COUNTER-DRONE EFFORTS AS PATEL WARNS OF GROWING THREATS FROM CRIMINALS, TERRORISTS
Congressional aides told Reuters that the Pentagon reportedly used the high-energy laser system to accidentally shoot down the CBP drone near the Mexican border, an area that frequently sees incursions from drones believed to be operated by Mexican drug cartels.
The FAA told Fox News Digital that a temporary flight restriction (TFR) was “already in place” around the Fort Hancock area and that the TFR “has been expanded to include a greater radius to ensure safety.”
The restriction does not impact commercial flights, the agency said.
The FAA said in a Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) that airspace around Fort Hancock was temporarily restricted for “special security reasons.”
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The restriction comes a couple of weeks after the FAA grounded flights to and from El Paso International Airport for 10 days before lifting the order roughly eight hours later.
Drones operated by Mexican drug cartels breached American airspace earlier this month near El Paso International Airport in Texas, leading the FAA to temporarily close the airport. (Kirby Lee/Getty Images)
A Trump administration official previously told Fox News that the initial lockdown came in response to “Mexican cartel drones” that breached U.S. airspace.
A U.S. official later confirmed that the U.S. military had shot down what was later determined to be a party balloon near El Paso.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment and was directed to the joint statement provided by the Department of War, Customs and Border Patrol and Federal Aviation Administration.
Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom and Reuters contributed to this report.
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WARNING: Video footage contains graphic violence
A 62-year-old street vendor is recovering after a brutally violent attack by another woman in broad daylight as bystanders in downtown Los Angeles looked on.
The attack happened around 4 p.m. on June 15 in the 700 block of Figueroa Street, where Arabelia Martinez has sold hot dogs for years to support herself and her family.
Video of the incident, which has since circulated widely online, appears to show a woman confronting Martinez at her stand before spraying sauce across the vendor’s cart. Martinez responds by throwing what appears to be Tajín seasoning in the woman’s direction, and the confrontation quickly escalates.
The difficult-to-watch footage shows Martinez being shoved to the ground and struck multiple times as people look on. Some can be seen attempting to intervene, but the assault continues for roughly a minute before coming to an end.
“I was speechless,” Martinez’s son, Constantino Garcia, said after watching the video. “I couldn’t even see the whole thing.”
According to Garcia, the suspect approached his mother before the attack and attempted to intimidate her into giving her money.
“The lady came up to my mom trying to intimidate her and extort her for money, telling her she needed a permit to sell, which my mom does have,” Garcia told KTLA’s Carlos Saucedo.
When Martinez refused, Garcia claims the woman became verbally abusive.
“After she didn’t get her way and tried to extort my mom, she said, ‘Go back to Mexico,’ and made some racist remarks,” he said. “She said some disgusting things to my mom.”
Garcia said his mother continues to suffer lingering effects from the attack.
“She keeps complaining about her head,” he said. “We need to go see a head specialist because her head doesn’t stop hurting. As you could see in the video, she got slammed to the ground.”
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A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia) -
A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia) -
A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia) -
A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia) -
A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia) -
A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia) -
A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia) -
A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia) -
A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia) -
A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia) -
A 62-year-old L.A. street vendor was violently beaten by another woman downtown as bystanders watched the broad daylight attack on June 15, 2026. (Constantino Garcia)
The video has also sparked outrage over the response from some witnesses who were nearby during the assault.
“What’s going on with our society?” Garcia said. “Are we getting desensitized to an elderly woman being beaten in broad daylight and being surrounded by people doing the bare minimum to help her? That was horrible for me to watch.”
Witness Sebastian Gutierrez said he arrived moments after the confrontation and saw Garcia’s attacker causing additional chaos in the area.
“The lady began to flip over the tables of vendors,” Gutierrez said, describing the woman as possibly unstable. “It definitely seemed like there were mental health issues or drugs involved, like we see with a lot of things here in downtown L.A.,” he said.
The Los Angeles Police Department has launched a battery investigation into the incident KTLA confirmed, though no suspect information or news of a potential arrest has been released.
Meanwhile, Martinez’s family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help with her recovery and raise awareness about the dangers street vendors face daily.
“I hope that my mom gets justice for what happened to her,” Garcia said. He added that he’s been encouraged by the public response to the video.
“I’m grateful people are sympathizing with my mom,” he said. “People are giving it the attention it deserves.”
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