The skies over South Carolina were alive with excitement this past weekend as U.S. fighter jets shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon. Witnesses reported a spectacle that was nothing short of miraculous, with jets dancing around the balloon before a missile was fired and the balloon was destroyed. Residents of the Palmetto State cheered with jubilation as the balloon was hit and dissipated into the atmosphere.
The balloon had been spotted by witnesses near the South Carolina coast on Saturday, having entered the U.S. airspace north of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands on January 28th. Ashlyn Preaux, 33, of Forestbrook, was getting her mail when she noticed the balloon in the sky and jets circling it. Jeffrey Billie, a retired defense contractor from Pawleys Island, also saw two fighter jets “dancing with this thing going around and around it” before a third jet flew near the balloon.
On the boardwalk in Myrtle Beach, a crowd of onlookers cheered as the balloon was hit by a missile launched from an F-22 fighter. Joey Lopes, a social studies teacher from Georgetown, South Carolina, was visiting Myrtle Beach when he saw the Chinese balloon near the coast. He recorded a video eight minutes later after hearing a loud noise in the sky.
The U.S. Air Force fighters acted on an order from President Joe Biden to shoot down the balloon, providing a sense of relief and jubilation to those in South Carolina who had witnessed the spectacle. The balloon had been sighted near Billings, Montana, on Wednesday, and U.S. officials acknowledged its existence on Thursday.
The events of this past weekend were a remarkable sight to behold, as U.S. fighter jets shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the South Carolina coast. The reactions of those who witnessed the event were one of jubilation and relief, providing a sense of security and safety in the Palmetto State.
Source: www.wpxi.com