Last week, we posted a viral Youtube video of a homemade drone firing a handgun. Since being posted on July 10, the video of a simple drone hovering in the air and shooting a gun has been viewed more that 2 million times.
We were not the only ones watching. The Federal Aviation Administration is now investigating the footage. Armed unmanned flying objects are a mainstay in foreign military operations, but the idea of a citizen building their own has given the FAA pause.
Here’s what FAA spokeman Jim Peters said of the investigation.
“The FAA will investigate the operation of an unmanned aircraft system in a Connecticut park to determine if any Federal Aviation Regulations were violated. The FAA will also work with its law enforcement partners to determine if there were any violations of criminal statutes.”
Austin Haughwout, an engineering student, was the one who built the drone and shot the video in Clinton, Connecticut. The gun belongs to his father, Brett Haughwout.
According to Clinton police officials, Haughwout didn’t violate local law by flying the drone or firing a gun in the forest. “We are attempting to determine if any laws have been violated at this point. It would seem to the average person, there should be something prohibiting a person from attaching a weapon to a drone. At this point, we can’t find anything that’s been violated,” Clinton Police Chief Todd Lawrie said.
Haughwout has not been arrested or charged for any criminal act.