Man shoots down drone hovering over house

[Jazzy]

Merideth, 47, lives in Hillview, Kentucky. As WDRB-TV reports, a neighbor heard gunshots and called the police. Merideth allegedly told the police that a drone was hovering over his house, where his teen daughter (he has two) was sunbathing. So he pulled out his gun and gave it a merry death.

The drone's owner, police say, said he was flying it to take pictures of a neighboring house.

However, Merideth told WRDB: "Well, I came out and it was down by the neighbor's house, about 10 feet off the ground, looking under their canopy that they've got under their back yard. I went and got my shotgun and I said, 'I'm not going to do anything unless it's directly over my property.'"

And then it allegedly was.

Merideth explained: "I didn't shoot across the road, I didn't shoot across my neighbor's fences, I shot directly into the air."

He says that shortly after the shooting, he received a visit from four men who claimed to be responsible for the drone, who explained that Merideth owed $1,800.

Merideth says he stood his ground: "I had my 40mm Glock on me and they started toward me and I told them, 'If you cross my sidewalk, there's gonna be another shooting.'"

There appears not to have been another shooting. However, Merideth was arrested for wanton endangerment and criminal mischief. There is, apparently, a local ordinance that says you can't shoot a gun off in the city, but the police charged him under a Kentucky Revised Statute.

An FAA spokesman stated: "Shooting at aircraft poses a significant safety hazard. An unmanned aircraft hit by gunfire could crash, causing damage to persons or property on the ground, or it could collide with other objects in the air. Shooting at an unmanned aircraft could result in criminal or civil charges."

The FAA's recommendations include not flying above 400 feet and "Don't fly near people or stadiums." The FAA adds: "You could be fined for endangering people or other aircraft."

For his part, Merideth says he will sue the drone's owners. He told WRDB: "You know, when you're in your own property, within a six-foot privacy fence, you have the expectation of privacy. We don't know if he was looking at the girls. We don't know if he was looking for something to steal. To me, it was the same as trespassing."

Source

Do you think he was right in shooting down the drone? Why/why not?

 

[Evil Eye]

I actually do. Though I doubt his legal position in this, I believe the skies are government property?

 

[Smiley]

I don't know whether he was right to shoot the drone down or not, but if the drone operator (or more of them) was only using it to peep on the sunbathing girl, I say why bother? The Internet is full of pictures of human females. Dressed, undressed... take your pick.

 

[Jazzy]

Merideth allegedly told the police that a drone was hovering over his house, where his teen daughter (he has two) was sunbathing.

The drone's owner, police say, said he was flying it to take pictures of a neighboring house.

I would have shot it down too. No doubt in my mind, the owner of the drone was taking pics of the teen sunbathing.

 

[Webster]

I would have shot it down too. No doubt in my mind, the owner of the drone was taking pics of the teen sunbathing.

I would've as well.

 

[Jazzy]

Let's start shooting those damn drones! :hunter:

 

[DrLeftover]

It's that low and hovering in my airspace over my kids/grandkids/dog/whatever..... .....

 

[MrDawn]

I think there needs to be laws on what people can and can't do with drones. If its to the point of an invasion of someone else's privacy, than that's crossing the line.