As it turns out, 2024 didn't start off extraterrestrial.
Miami police shut down wild rumors that a 10-foot-tall alien was roaming the Florida city on New Year's Day after conspiracy theories spread on social media.
The department confirmed Friday that “aliens, UFOs, and ETs do not exist.”
The speculation comes after a video circulated online showing a large man strolling outside the Bayside Marketplace shopping mall in downtown Miami, surrounded by dozens of police cruisers with flashing lights. It spread as a result of what happened.
But police say the truth behind the grainy, zoomed-in footage taken from several floors above is not so otherworldly.
“It's a shadow of a person walking. If you look at the beginning of the clip, you can see the person at the bottom of the shadow,” Trooper Michael Vega said in a statement.
“If there was a creature, myself and other officers would pull out our handguns, rifles and shotguns and hide behind the vehicle.”
The real reason for the heavy police presence was in response to reports that a group of more than 50 boys, possibly armed with sticks, were fighting at the mall.
The rioters also set off fireworks, causing many people inside the mall to flee for fear of gunfire.
Even after police arrived, the group refused to leave. Among the many responding officers, some worked to subdue the children, while others worked to subdue the distressed crowd.
The unrest was such that businesses were temporarily shut down until police removed the troublemakers.
“The boys were causing chaos,” Vega said.
Four teenagers have been arrested for allegedly instigating the massive ordeal, according to reports. NBC Miami.
But that simple answer did little to quell rumors spreading on social media.
“10 foot tall aliens/creatures firing shots in and out of Miami Mall (caught on camera?), media is silent, police are covering up saying kids were fighting with fireworks, but these Air traffic was stopped that night except for black military personnel, all police cars, helicopters…and no media coverage,'' one user wrote on X.
“I don't know what part of this story bothers me the most. The fact that we live in a world where things like this can actually happen…or the fact that things like this can happen in our The fact that it can happen in the world, or that not a single new piece of media has broken out, 'This story just doesn't exist,' one woman said on TikTok.
Some claimed they lost power and Wi-Fi in the hours following the ordeal, while others claimed the nearby airport was closed, but Miami police confirmed both were false claims.
After 5 days, #MiamiAlien is still trending on X.
