Don't shoot at Chinese spy balloon, South Carolina sheriff warns: 'What goes up will come down'

Police in South Carolina told civilians not to shoot at the Chinese spy balloon as it passed overhead Saturday morning. 

The York County Sheriff's Office posted pictures of the Chinese surveillance aircraft as it was seen flying in the area between 9 and 10 a.m. ET on Saturday. "'That's no moon,'" the sheriff's office wrote on Facebook and Twitter. 

"Yes, there are reports that the Chinese balloon is flying over our area at the moment. It's flying at 60,000+ feet," the sheriff's office said. 

"Don't try to shoot it!!" the post continued. "Your rifle rounds WILL NOT reach it. Be responsible. What goes up will come down, including your bullets." 

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Pentagon officials on Thursday disclosed that a surveillance balloon believed to be of Chinese origin had been tracked flying over Montana. China's foreign ministry acknowledged the balloon was Chinese on Friday, claiming it was a civilian weather aircraft that had blown off course.

Senior State Department officials disputed that claim, identifying it as Chinese surveillance craft and calling its presence in U.S. airspace an "unacceptable" violation of American sovereignty. Secretary of State Antony Blinken indefinitely postponed a planned trip to China to meet with President Xi Jinping because of the incident and called China's actions "irresponsible" in a phone call with his counterpart Wang Yi on Friday.

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President Biden has come under fire from Republicans for not shooting the balloon down. Senior U.S. officials have warned that taking the balloon out while it flies over the continental United States risks injury to American civilians or infrastructure on the ground, which might be struck by falling debris. 

The sheriff's office told Fox News Digital they have not received any reports of people attempting to shoot the balloon down and that the statement was issued proactively. 

Anyone shooting at the Chinese balloon from the ground with privately-owned firearms is not only going to miss, but risks hitting unintended targets or people. 

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