NEW YORK—A New York City teacher was arrested early Friday for allegedly crashing a drone into an empty section of seats at the U.S. Open, police said.
Daniel Verley, 26, faces charges of reckless endangerment and operating a drone in a New York City public park outside of prescribed area.
A police department spokesman said Verley was a teacher at the Academy of Innovative Technology in Brooklyn. Calls for comment to the school and the Department of Education were not immediately returned Friday.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Verley had an attorney who could comment on the charges on his behalf.
The drone buzzed over the court in Louis Armstrong Stadium on Thursday night before crashing into the seats. U.S. Tennis Association spokesman Chris Widmaier said no one was injured.
The black device flew diagonally through the arena during the next-to-last game of a second-round match that 26th-seeded Flavia Pennetta of Italy won 6-1, 6-4 over Monica Niculescu of Romania.
Pennetta said she heard the drone fly by and was not sure what it was.
Her initial reaction, she said afterward, was that it might have been a bomb.
“A little bit scary, I have to say,” Pennetta said.
