More Mysterious Drones Reported — This Time In Stamford: Police

STAMFORD, CT — Sightings of mysterious drones, which have been occurring for weeks along the East Coast, have reached Stamford, according to police and community members.

Stamford police warned residents Saturday evening that law enforcement had received recent reports of drone activity in the area and urged people to report any sightings. In the comments of the police department’s Facebook post about the drones, several community members said they had seen them.

“A massive drone went by our apt window (18th floor) at 6:30 pm,” Christine Kapp wrote. “A plane would never be this low due to FAA regulations. Good to know I’m NOT seeing things.”

Mike Alatortsev wrote that he had seen four or five drones in North Stamford.

“Last night we saw 2 flying south above the Merrit Parkway in Stamford around 1:30 AM,” Denise Dube Wilson wrote.

To report a sighting, visit the Connecticut Suspicious Activity Reporting Portal at https://portal.ct.gov/demhs/homeland-security/suspicious-activity-reporting-form.

The sightings in Stamford follow similar reports out of Fairfield and East Windsor.

In the skies above parts of New Jersey, as many as 180 sightings have been reported nightly in recent days, according to Patch, with mayors and other officials in the Garden State voicing frustration over the situation.

Drones were spotted throughout the greater Philadelphia area on Thursday night, perhaps the most widespread night yet of the unexplained sightings of aerial objects in that state. There were also sightings Thursday night in Massachusetts and Virginia, and drones have been spotted over New York City.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut has called for the drones to be “shot down, if necessary.”

In a call with reporters Saturday organized by the White House, senior officials from the FBI, Pentagon, FAA and other agencies sought to assure people that the drones are not a national security or public safety threat or the handiwork of a malicious foreign actor.

Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia, who was briefed by the Department of Homeland Security, said the reported drones have been up to 6 feet in diameter and sometimes travel with their lights switched off. This is much larger than those typically flown by drone hobbyists, and she said they appear to avoid detection by traditional methods such as helicopter and radio.

The FBI, Homeland Security and state police are investigating the sightings. Authorities say they don't know if it is one drone that has been spotted many times or if there are multiple aircraft being flown in a coordinated effort.

Speculation has raged online, with some expressing concerns that the drone or drones could be part of a nefarious plot by foreign agents.

Officials stress that ongoing state and federal investigations have found no evidence to support those concerns.

Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Wednesday that the aircraft are not U.S. military drones.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.