Dept. of Defense shoots down Customs and Border Protection drone near El Paso: Officials
Congress was briefed on the incident Thursday, a source told ABC News.
By Clara McMichael and Ayesha Ali
(ABC) - The Department of Defense mistakenly shot down a Customs and Border Protection drone over El Paso, according to a statement from House representatives and a congressional aide.
Congress was briefed on the incident on Thursday, a source confirmed to ABC News.
The Federal Aviation Administration has expanded its temporary flight restrictions over the Fort Hancock airspace in Texas, about 50 miles to the southeast of El Paso, which prohibits all flight operations there through June 24, due to “security” reasons.
The location of the airspace restriction does not impact commercial flights, according to the FAA.
Ranking members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure released a statement on the incident, saying, "Our heads are exploding over the news that DoD reportedly shot down a Customs and Border Protection drone using a high risk counter-unmanned aircraft system."
The statement, from Rick Larsen, D-Wash., André Carson, D-Ind. and Bennie G. Thompson, D-Miss., called out the White House directly.
"We said MONTHS ago that the White House's 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 was a short-sighted idea. Now, we're seeing the result of its incompetence," the members said.
U.S. Northern Command declined to comment, and the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.
The incident comes after the FAA's abrupt shutdown of airspace over El Paso earlier this month.
Sources with direct knowledge told ABC News at the time that it came days after a laser was used by the Department of Homeland Security to shoot down an object in the vicinity of Fort Bliss. One of the sources said the object was a balloon.
The FAA imposed a surprise 10-day shutdown of airspace within a 10-mile radius of El Paso, halting all arrivals and departures at its airport for what it initially described only as "special security reasons."
Within hours, the FAA rescinded the order. The Trump administration said the closing of airspace was related to the military neutralizing cartel drones, not a balloon.
