[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] The US military used a laser to accidentally shoot down a Customs and Border Patrol drone in Texas while enforcing Donald Trump's efforts to crack down at the border, leaving Congressional Democrats furious.
The laser, fired near Fort Bliss, about 50 miles northwest of El Paso, was the second time in two weeks that one has been shot in the area.
| Twice in two weeks? A national emergency, fer sher. |
However, the earlier laser firing did not hit a target but similarly a closure of airspace in the area took place.
The Pentagon, Customs and Border Protection and the Federal Aviation Administration released a statement explaining what happened.
'At President Trump's direction, the Department of War, FAA, and Customs and Border Patrol are working together in an unprecedented fashion to mitigate drone threats by Mexican cartels and foreign terrorist organizations at the US-Mexico Border,' they said.
The Pentagon 'employed counter-unmanned aircraft system authorities to mitigate a seemingly threatening unmanned aerial system operating within military airspace.'
No commercial flights were in the area and the shot took place far from any populated areas.
'These agencies will continue to work on increased cooperation and communication to prevent such incidents in the future.' |