Callum Jones
Miami police have debunked online rumors of an alleged 'alien' sighting after a mall was shut down.
2024 hasn't begun with a extraterrestrial start after all, though we probably had enough of it in 2023 didn't we?
The apparent UFO sighting in Las Vegas gripped most of us last year as it made headlines for many months.
And to start off a new year, Miami was set in chaos as reports of a mall in the city being shut down by police.
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Multiple videos emerged on the likes of TikTok and Facebook of people fleeing the Bayside Marketplace, a shopping mall in downtown Miami.
Videos showed utter panic in the US city on New Year's Day as police and sirens circled the shopping mall.
In a statement, police said they were responding to reports that a group of more than 50 juveniles were fighting in the mall - leading to officers being dispatched 'for crowd control due to the juveniles refusing to leave'.
The group also set off fireworks, which sent many shoppers into panic as they feared a shooting had broken out.
Businesses were also temporarily shut as a result of the mayhem, with four teenagers subsequently arrested, according to NBC Miami.
But nonetheless, the rumor mill went still went into overdrive on social media.
One person said: "I don't know if the rumours about the aliens at the Miami Mall are real but I do know I never seen this many police in one place."
While an X (formerly known as Twitter) user claimed that there were '10ft Aliens/Creatures' which were 'fired at inside and outside Miami Mall' in supposed footage.
Even Star Trek's William Shatner said on X: "So apparently space aliens visited a mall in Miami?"
Many others claimed they had lost WiFi for hours after the incident, while some alleged that nearby airports had been shut.
However, Miami Police has since confirmed that all the assertions are false.
In a statement, the department confirmed: "There were no aliens, UFOs, or ETs."
Speaking of the viral videos, officer Michael Vega added: "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.
"If there was any creature, myself and other officers would have our handgun, rifle, and shotgun out while we hide behind our cars."
He also wrote in an email to NBC: "There were no aliens. No airports were closed. Nothing is being withheld from the public. LOL.”
LOL indeed.