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University says professor discouraged teen from building gun-firing drone

The FAA and police are investigating whether a drone equipped to fire a gun is in violation of federal regulations
FAA investigating drone armed with gun 00:24

HARTFORD, Conn. -- A university in Connecticut says one of its professors told a teenager it was a terrible idea when the student described rigging a drone with a handgun.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating whether 18-year-old Austin Haughwout of Clinton violated its regulations after he posted online a video that shows shots being fired from a drone in a wooded area.

Central Connecticut State University spokesman Mark McLaughlin said Wednesday the student mentioned to an engineering professor this summer that he was planning to put a weapon on a remote-controlled aircraft.

McLaughlin says the professor, Edward Moore, strongly discouraged the student, and that the drone wasn't related to a class project.

Haughwout's father told WFSB-TV last week that his son created the drone with a CCSU professor.

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