A viral video showing heavy police presence around Bayside Marketplace in Miami on New Year’s Day made many speculate that aliens had visited the mall to ring in 2024 - but what really caused the commotion?
Police confirmed that they were there to dissolve a large fight that broke out between a group of about 50 teenagers, which resulted in multiple arrests.
Yet some people had their own theories and posted on social media days after the incident, suggesting what really was going on to attract all the blue lights.
The most popular conspiracy: aliens had taken a visit to the mall.
Much to the disappointment of UFO spotters and extraterrestrial enthusiasts, the City of Miami Police Department put the theories to bed, telling NBC6 there were “No aliens, UFOs, or ET’s. No airports were closed. No power outages."
"Nothing is being withheld from the public. LOL,” the Miami Police Department public information officer Michael Vega wrote to NBC in an email.
Clips taken from the viral video were reshared on social media, claiming that an eight-to-ten-foot alien could be seen at the mall on New Year’s Day.
The low-quality clip appears to show a tall glowing figure near police vehicles, although other users on X pointed out it is likely to be, in fact, two to three people walking next to each other.
“10ft Aliens/Creatures (caught on camera?) fired at inside and outside Miami Mall, media silent, cops are covering it up saying kids were fighting with fireworks, yet all these cop cars, & air traffic stopped that night except for black military choppers,” one user claimed on X, amongst an onslaught of other conspiracy posts and memes poking fun at the ‘Miami Mall alien’ as the video went viral.
Others, however, were not so convinced, with one user writing, “Everybody have cell phones, but nobody have an up close video of the 8-10 foot alien by the Miami mall?”
Instead of an alien invasion, a huge group of juveniles were being dealt with by the large police fleet, who allegedly were also setting off fireworks, causing panic across the mall, an arrest report said according to the outlet.
Around 50 teenagers are thought to have been involved in the chaos— (NBC6)
The chaos that ensued disrupted and damaged businesses in the area.
While no aliens were taken in for questioning, four teenagers had been arrested.
The huge brawl broke just before 8.30pm on New Year’s Day; police were called to the mall to quell the situation.
The fireworks being set off were also mistaken as gunshots, which caused a local resident to report an active shooter, the president of Downtown Neighbors Alliance, James Torres, said in a statement about the incident.
"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," Mr Torres said, according to NBC6.
One nearby resident, Ryan Landy, told CBS News that he witnessed the melee after he “heard a lot of successive shots or pops.”
"There’s a big crowd of people running outside of Bayside and then we hear a commotion and now they’re just running through the streets, running between cars, almost getting hit by cars, it was absolute chaos," he said.
The Miami Police Department later confirmed on X that the sounds were fireworks and no shots were fired.
The havoc being caused within the mall meant that Biscayne Boulevard was shut down between 2nd and 4th Streets while officers tried to clear the area and escort the teens away from the mall. The boulevard later reopened.
Around 10 to 15 juveniles were also seen by police assaulting a man nearby, the arrest report said, according to the outlet, so they announced through a marked police vehicle to stop the fighting, which led to several teens fleeing the area.
Yet police were able to catch two 15-year-olds, one 14-year-old and one 16-year-old, all male, who were identified by the alleged victim.
The victim claims that one teen in a large group threw a bottle at his car, which made him stop and ask who did it, resulting in the man allegedly getting jumped and his phone stolen, NBC6 reported.
Two of the teenagers arrested are facing charges of burglary of an unoccupied conveyance, grand theft, battery, and resisting an officer without violence, the outlet said.
The two other teens were also arrested for resisting an officer without violence.
The four teenagers are expected to appear in juvenile court on Wednesday. No injuries were reported.
