Miami PD has clarified social media claims about an alleged alien creature "caught" on camera on New Year's Day

Social media platforms such as TikTok and X (formerly Twitter) are flush with clips and claims about a shadowy alien creature appearing during a brawl at a Miami mall on New Year's Day, with many saying that an extraterrestrial or supernatural being had been seen in the vicinity. A particular video of the incident taken with a mobile camera from high above has gone viral as conspiracy theorists ran wild on social media with the claims.

On New Year's Day, a large number of police vehicles and personnel were dispatched to the mall after reports of a brawl between multiple people were reported. Rumors about a supposed eight-foot-tall alien figure having been witnessed in the area soon started circulating on social media after a clip capturing a shadowy figure started garnering a lot of traction.

However, it has been reported that a Miami PD spokesperson has dispelled the rumors, pointing out that the entity caught on camera was just the shadow of a person and not some aliens.

---

Facts vs Conspiracy: Miami alien rumor explored

As per local news reports, several police vehicles were dispatched to a Miami mall on Monday night, January 1, after groups of juveniles clashed at the Bayside Marketplace. The brawl allegedly contained weapons such as sticks with a few fireworks being thrown at each other.

After law enforcement tried to disperse the crowds, the chaos started moving toward downtown Miami with witnesses stating that miscreants were pepper sprayed by cops to help contain them. However, all of this was eclipsed by the rumor that some alien creature had been witnessed at the mall, with some viral posts on social media claiming that the massive police response was not due to kids fighting but to some sort of extraterrestrial or supernatural phenomenon.

The claims were exacerbated after TikTok clips, such as the one above by @sosa.pippen, started gaining traction where people claiming to be first-hand witnesses took to social media to spread the rumors. The TikToker in the above clip stated that he saw shadowy yet solid figures at the mall, saying:

"It looked like a big a** shadow but it was solid at the same time, like a few shadows but it was solid at the same time and it almost looked like they were coming our direction, like it was chasing us but they were disappearing and reappearing closer."

Another viral thread on X from @moab2, which currently has over 3.2 million views at the time, also propagated the rumor about aliens after the user claimed people at the Bayside Marketplace were panicking, not because of a fight but because of the appearance of "gray creatures."

All rumors aside, TMZ reported that a spokesperson from the Miami PD has clarified the alien theory and specifically commented about the clip of the shadowy figure, stating that it was only the shadow of a man. The spokesperson said:

"What is seen on this clip is the shadow of someone walking. If you look at the bottom of the shadow, you can see the person. No creature."

Between last year's infamous UFO hearings and the Mexican government revealing alleged alien bodies to the public, extraterrestrials are clearly on the minds of a lot of people. The recent public attention towards the same only served to exacerbate the rumors about the recent Miami mall incident.