Chinese “spy balloon” spotted over St. Louis

ST. LOUIS. What can we really do? Bob Swan asked.

“It’s a little weird,” Russ Geminn said.

Strange or not, a large alleged spy balloon from China is now moving across the United States and has taken the world by storm.

It also caught the attention of balloon watchers in St. Louis.

“It would bother me,” said Bob Swan.

From south St. Louis to downtown, O’Fallon, Missouri, and Washington, Missouri, scores of people took cell phone pictures of China’s hot air balloon, which is reportedly the size of three buses.

Chinese officials insist the balloon is a civilian airship used for weather research that has gone off course and poses no threat to the US.

“Yes, there is a lot to be suspicious of, but all we can do is be nice, small, until we have something more to worry about,” Geminn said.

“I don’t know what they say about it. I don’t know if I really believe,” Swan said.

Several Missouri lawmakers also don’t believe the hype surrounding China’s big balloon.

Republican Josh Hawley tweeted, “Shoot him.”

— I think it’s easy to knock him down. It’s a weather balloon,” Geminn said.

“Until we know a little more, I wouldn’t want to shoot him down,” Swan said.

US officials debate what to do about the controversial balloon.

“I have made it clear that the presence of this observation balloon in US airspace is a clear violation of US sovereignty and international law,” Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said.

The Pentagon says it’s tracking the balloon’s every move.

“Oh, nothing to worry about if the Pentagon is involved. We know for sure that something is in the air,” Geminn said.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said the suspected spy balloon is currently heading towards the Carolinas.

On Friday evening, the Pentagon reported a second Chinese reconnaissance balloon flying over Latin America.

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