It turns out 2024 didn’t kick off to an extraterrestrial start, after all.
Miami police shut down wild rumors that a 10-foot-tall alien was roaming the Floridian city on New Year’s Day after the conspiracy theory ran rampant on social media.
“There were no aliens, UFOs, or ETs,” the department confirmed Friday.
The speculation was ignited after a video circulating online seemingly captured a massive figure strolling outside Bayside Marketplace, a shopping mall in downtown Miami, that was surrounded by dozens of police cruisers with their lights flashing.
But the truth behind the grainy, zoomed-in footage taken from several stories above is much less otherworldly, according to cops.
“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,” Officer Michael Vega said in a statement.
“If there was any creature, myself and other officers would have our handgun, rifle, and shotgun out while we hide behind our cars.”
The real cause of the massive police presence was in response to reports that a group of more than 50 juveniles possibly armed with sticks were fighting in the mall.
Hellbound and Down 