No, 10ft aliens didn't invade a shopping mall in Miami

TikToker users have sparked panic online by convincing themselves that 10ft aliens have been roaming around a shopping mall in Miami.

The official story so far is that a group of about 50 teenagers sparked a riot at Bayside Marketplace Mall in the city.

The teenagers are thought to have run through the corridors shooting off fireworks, damaging stores and starting fights.

Miami Police said they arrested four teens after a large group were fighting at the mall on New Year's Day.

However, an aerial video of the incident, taken from outside the mall, has sent the internet into overdrive.

The clip shows dozens of police cars sitting outside the venue with sirens blaring. Some people estimated that there were as many as 60 police cars.

A TikTok user called @auntie_coolette went viral, citing "multiple witnesses" who claimed to have seen "creatures who stood 8-10 feet tall walking outside and inside the mall".

Meanwhile, another user @sosa.pippen, in a now-deleted video, said he heard gunshots and then saw a “big ass shadow” but that was also solid, “disappearing and reappearing” while getting closer.

And over on X/Twitter, Nephilim, the Hebrew word for "giants", started trending, as people shared the conspiracy theory.

Some users on the platform also claimed that there were reports of UFO sightings in the sky, and that zoomed in videos showed that an alien being was visible.

There is also a much more rational explanation, however, and it was shared by the president of Miami's Downtown Neighbors Alliance, James Torres.

He said the massive police response was because a resident mistook the fireworks as gunshots, and reported an active shooter.

"Some officers were heavily armed and approached the crowd displaying high-powered rifles, reflecting the fact that officers were initially erroneously told the situation involved an active shooter."

While there are no reports any aliens were detained, four teens were arrested.

And by 4.30am the road was reopened and traffic was flowing smoothly, according to authorities.

So no, unless police managed to catch, kill and dispose of an alien in just a few hours, there probably wasn't any otherworldly involvement.

Not this time, anyway...

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