A group of people living outside a homeless shelter in New Hampshire say they're being harassed by a drone.
People living on the street outside of the Families in Transition shelter in Manchester sit against the wall for some cover from the sun.
Over the last few months, some say they have had to take cover from objects falling from the sky.
“You’ve got people that will fill water balloons with dog feces on homeless people’s tents,” said Revan Bellino, 31, who says he has experienced homelessness since he was 16 years old and currently sleeps on the sidewalk outside of the shelter on Manchester Street. He said this and other objects were dropped from a drone.
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“It’s not right doing this to a fellow human being. It’s not okay, especially when are doing it to people who have nowhere else to go,” said Bellino.
Dam Wright provides outreach to people experiencing homelessness. He said the drone has been dropping objects regularly since June, mostly in the evening.
“We saw the lights in the sky. I retreated under some cover and what we quickly saw shortly thereafter was that something fell from the sky, including a light that was attached to it. We believe it was a water balloon from the splash pattern on the street,” said Wright.
Other times, he said it has dropped popsicles, a soda can and an egg.
"If we allow this person to keep doing what they are doing it’s just a matter of when he gets lucky and drops something heavy and that someone is going to get hurt," Wright said.
In a statement, Manchester Police Chief Allen Aldenberg said,” “We are very fortunate to have formed and maintained positive relationships with many of those experiencing homelessness in the city; that has allowed them to feel comfortable to come forward and report crimes. Whenever people without housing are victimized, the Manchester Police Department works to defend them, and we will continue to investigate the recent incidents involving a drone.”
“At the end of the day, I want to see this person get consequences but I also want to see them get the help they need because there’s nobody in their right mind that does this sort of thing,” said Wright.
Bellino said it’s disheartening when they have so many other challenges to deal with.
A lot of these people need to be in medical or rehab centers; people that need resources and there is not enough of them to go around,” said Bellino. “I’m living in an environment where even if you are working three jobs 70 hours a week, doesn’t matter, still can’t afford a place, still end up here.”
