RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia State Police announced Thursday it's received more than 150 tips regarding drone activity across the commonwealth so far this month.
It comes after multiple reports of "suspicious" drone activity in the northeast made national headlines.
Matt Demlein, a spokesperson with the Virginia State Police, said staff with the Virginia Fusion Center, which is located within the Homeland Security Division of VSP, are thoroughly investigating all tips to determine viability.
"If you see a drone acting suspiciously, flying over critical infrastructure, we’re talking about energy installations, military sites, there’s actually a long list of critical infrastructure, but things along that line, that’s the type of stuff we want people reporting," Demlein said.
That doesn't include drones used for recreational or commercial use that follows federal regulations, or those being used by law enforcement.
For example, Chesterfield County police used a drone this to make an arrest earlier this week.
A CCPD spokesperson said they encourage residents to call in any kind of drone activity they believe may be suspicious or illegal. Those tips can then be routed to other agencies for further investigation if needed.
Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Defense released a joint statement, saying that out of 5,000 reported drone sightings in the last few weeks, only approximately 100 leads were generated.
"We have not identified anything anomalous and do not assess the activity to date to present a national security or public safety risk over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the northeast," the statement reads.
Earlier this week, Sen. Mark Warner and Gov. Glenn Youngkin expressed concerns about how federal agencies were handling the public's concerns about the suspicious drone activity.
Thursday, Warner said that he, Sen. Tim Kaine and Youngkin would receive a briefing on the reported sightings that afternoon.
"I've been hugely concerned. And again, I'm chairman of the Intelligence Committee. I'd love to be able to sit here and tell you don't worry, we've got it all explained but part of it's classified, but I can't tell you that," Warner said. "The slowness of the Defense Department, to realize, you've got, I'm not going to call it a full panic, but at least you've got folks understandably concerned, and to not be kind of more forward leaning, is totally unacceptable."
Warner, Kaine and Youngkin later released a joint-statement that says the following:
“While we appreciate the agencies taking the time to update us on the situation, this briefing was insufficient and unsatisfactory. It has been more than a year since these sightings over key military facilities in Virginia and the lack of answers about the nature, intent, and origin of these incidents is completely unacceptable. The safety of Virginians remains our top priority, and we are determined to continue pressing for additional details as well as greater coordination with state and local officials. We will be staying in close contact with the relevant federal and state agencies to ensure that these concerns are pursued vigorously.”
Shooting down a drone is illegal. According to the FAA, shooting an unmanned aircraft could result in a civil penalty from a FAA and/or criminal charges from federal, state or local law enforcement.
Anyone who believes they've seen suspicious drone activity by the VSP's standards is encouraged to report it to the Virginia Fusion Center.
More information on drones can be found here.
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