The Chinese surveillance balloon that garnered both national and local attention last week, was shot down just off of South Carolina's coast over the weekend.
The widely described spy balloon had been drifting across the U.S. for several days and was spotted over the Upstate, Saturday morning. A video of it flying over Greenville County, Saturday was captured and is below.
The balloon was shot down by fighter jets around 2:40 Saturday afternoon. Military officials say that the apparatus was brought down by a single Aim-9X missile.
The Chinese government said the decision to shoot the balloon down was " an overreaction and a serious violation of international practice". The balloon was about 6 miles off the coast of South Carolina when it was brought down.
Secretary Of Defense Lloyd Austin said that President Biden authorized the move Wednesday to take down the balloon once it could be done without undue risk to American lives. The FAA issued a ground stop to three airports near the coast of North and South Carolina Saturday afternoon but lifted those restrictions shortly after the balloon was shot down.
Was the balloon flying over South Carolina to gather intel regarding the nuclear plants here? That question remains unanswered, but at the top of mind.
