It turns out that 2024 didn’t have an extraterrestrial beginning after all.
Miami police shut down wild rumors that a 10-foot-tall alien was roaming the Florida city on New Year’s Day after the conspiracy theory spread rampant on social media.
“There were no aliens, UFOs or extraterrestrials,” the department confirmed Friday.
Speculation ignited after a video circulating online apparently captured a large figure strolling outside Bayside Marketplace, a shopping center in downtown Miami, which was surrounded by dozens of police cruisers with their lights on.
But the truth behind the grainy, blown-up images taken from various stories above is far less supernatural, according to police.
Miami police debunked online rumors that an alien had invaded the South Florida city on New Year’s Day. YouTube/NBC 6 South Florida The Miami Police Department debunked rumors that there were aliens roaming the Florida city on New Year’s Day. YouTube/NBC 6 South Florida
“It is the shadow of a person walking. “If you look at the beginning of the clip, you can see the person at the end of the shadow,” Officer Michael Vega said in a statement.
“If there were any creatures, other officers and I would draw our pistol, rifle and shotgun while hiding behind our cars.”
The real cause of the massive police presence was in response to reports that a group of more than 50 youths possibly armed with clubs were fighting in the mall.
Businesses had to close temporarily until police could remove the rioters. YouTube/NBC 6 South Florida
The agitators had also set off fireworks, prompting many people inside the mall to run for fear that a shooting had broken out.
Even after police arrived, the group refused to leave. Some of the many responding officers worked to control the children, while others worked to control the distressed crowds.
The chaos was such that businesses were temporarily closed until police could remove the rioters.
The teens had set off fireworks, prompting many people inside the mall to run out of fear that a shooting had broken out. YouTube/NBC 6 South Florida
“The young people were causing chaos,” Vega said.
According to NBC Miami, four teenagers were arrested for causing the ordeal.
However, the simple response did little to quell the rumors circulating on social media.
Police are seen combing the area where agitators made manure in downtown Miami. YouTube/NBC 6 South Florida
“10 foot aliens/creatures (caught on camera?) shot in and out of Miami Mall, media is silent, cops cover it up by saying kids were fighting with fireworks, yet all these police cars and air traffic was stopped that night, except for the black military. helicopters… and no media coverage,” wrote a user on X.
“I’m not sure which part of this story bothers me more: the fact that we actually live in a world where something like this can happen… or that something like this can happen in our world or that not a single new media has broken in. the story, not at all,” said one woman on TikTok.
Others claimed they were left without power or WiFi in the hours after the ordeal, while some claimed nearby airports were shut down, all of which Miami police confirmed were false claims.
Five days later, #MiamiAlien is still trending on X.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn