Authorities Looking for Person Who Pointed Laser at Aircraft

MITCHELL, S.D. (AP) — Police in Mitchell are looking for the person who has pointed a green laser at an aircraft and officers.

Lt. Don Everson says the incidents involving the laser have happened over the last several weeks.

Everson says someone has pointed the laser at officers in the vicinity of the softball diamonds near the Highway 37 bypass. But, Everson says, authorities are most concerned about the incident in which the laser was pointed at an aircraft west of Mitchell.

Laser pointers are legal and are commonly used in classrooms, but it's a felony to aim them at aircraft.

The Federal Aviation Administration has reported an increase in people pointing lasers at aircraft in recent years.

Everson says anyone with information about the incidents in Mitchell should contact police.

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