Toy aircraft causes evacuation of federal building in Paterson

A toy aircraft resulted in the evacuation of a federal building in Paterson Wednesday afternoon, NBC New York has reported.

The drone was discovered on the first floor deck of the 100 Hamiton Plaza building by an off-duty sheriff, according to the website. The building houses federal, state and county offices.

Police have said the aircraft wasn't a commercial drone - which would typically have four propellers - s it's not likely that it would have had the capability to carry anything dangerous. However, it would have been capable of recording video. NBC reports that no one actually saw the drone flying in the vicinity of the building before it was discovered.

No additional information is available on how long it was there before being found, or who operated the device. The incident is being investigation by local and federal authorities as well as units from the Office of Emergency Management and Passaic County Sheriff's Office. Local police remained outside the building as a precaution.

Toniann Antonelli is the digital managing editor at NJ 101.5. Reach her at toniann.antonelli@townsquaremedia.com, or on Twitter @ToniRadio1015.