Unmanned Aerial Vehicle The latest drone news
In a peculiar incident that highlights the growing integration of technology in everyday life, a 72-year-old man in Florida has been arrested after admitting to shooting down a Walmart delivery drone.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office reports that representatives from Walmart’s drone delivery program filed a complaint following the incident. According to Fox 35 Orlando, the representatives were demonstrating the capabilities of drone deliveries in a nearby community. The demonstration aimed to showcase the potential benefits of drone technology to attract new business opportunities.
The incident occurred as the drone was descending in front of a home located in a cul-de-sac. Witnesses reported hearing a gunshot as the drone was about to land. A representative of the drone delivery crew observed a man standing at the side of the house with a firearm pointed towards the sky.
The crew quickly redirected the drone back to the Walmart store for inspection, where they found a bullet hole and $2,500 worth of damage to its payload system.
Deputies later interviewed Dennis Winn, the 72-year-old suspect, at his residence. Mr. Winn claimed that his previous experiences with drones led him to believe that the UAV was surveilling him. In an attempt to deter the drone, he initially tried to shoo it away. When that failed, he retrieved a 9mm gun from a safe inside his home and shot the drone, which was approximately 75 feet in the air at the time.
“I then told him that he had struck a Walmart drone,” the sherriff’s deputy said, Fox 35 reported. “The defendant looked in disbelief and questioned, ‘Really?’”
“I fired one round at it,” Mr. Winn said in bodycam footage. “They say I hit it so I must be a good shot, or else it’s not that far away […] I’m going to wind up having to find a real good defense lawyer.”
Mr. Winn faces several charges, including shooting at an aircraft, criminal mischief with damage exceeding $1,000, and discharging a firearm in public or residential property.
