A suspected Chinese spy balloon hovering above the skies of South Carolina on a Saturday afternoon was shutdown by the United States military.
The U.S. Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin said that, “President Biden gave his authorization to take down the surveillance balloon as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to American lives under the balloon’s path.”
U.S. and Chinese officials however have given conflicting information on the balloon’s purpose.
According to the Chinese government, the balloon is strictly used for meteorological research and accidentally went adrift into U.S. airspace.
China’s foreign ministry on Saturday expressed “strong dissatisfaction and protest” over what it called the U.S.’s “use of force to attack a civilian unmanned airship.”
It called the shooting down an “obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice.”
The Pentagon claimed that the balloon was being used for surveillance.
Its presence already led Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday to postpone a historic trip to Beijing, as tensions continue to rise between the two countries over national security.
U.S. officials earlier this week decided against shooting down the balloon after the Biden administration said it did not pose a national security threat.
The balloon was traveling through the U.S. quickly became an internet celebrity as meteorologists, storm chasers and others shared sightings on social media as it continued on its path across the U.S.
Others criticized the Biden administration for not taking quicker actions to stop it.
Several sightings of the balloon was shared on social media which made the South Carolina York County Office to release a statement on its social media page reminding and urging its people to not take matter into their own hands as the balloon was more than 60,000 feet.
“Don’t try to shoot it!! “Your rifle rounds WILL NOT reach it. Be responsible. What goes up will come down, including your bullets.”