Don’t shoot Chinese spy balloon, South Carolina sheriff warns: “What goes up, comes down.”

South Carolina police ordered civilians not to fire on a Chinese spy balloon as it flew overhead on Saturday morning.

The York County Sheriff’s Office released photos of a Chinese spy plane that was seen flying in the area between 9 and 10 a.m. ET Saturday. “It’s not the moon,” the sheriff’s office wrote on Facebook and Twitter.

“Yes, there are reports that a Chinese balloon is flying over our area at the moment. It flies at over 60,000 feet,” the sheriff’s office said.

“Don’t try to shoot!!” post continued. “Your bullets SHOULD NOT get to him. Be responsible. What goes up goes down, including your bullets.”

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A Chinese spy balloon flies over Charlotte, North Carolina on February 4, 2023.
(Peter Zai/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

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Pentagon officials said on Thursday that an observation balloon believed to be of Chinese origin was spotted over Montana. China’s Foreign Ministry on Friday acknowledged the balloon was Chinese, saying it was a civilian meteorological aircraft that went off course.

Senior State Department officials disputed the claim, calling it a Chinese spy craft and calling its presence in US airspace an “unacceptable” violation of US sovereignty. Secretary of State Anthony 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 with son Hunter Biden arrives at Hancock Field Air National Guard in Syracuse, New York, February 4, 2023. Biden briefly spoke to reporters about the Chinese spy balloon and said, “We’ll take care of it.” This.”
(ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

President Biden has been criticized by Republicans for not shooting down the balloon. Senior U.S. officials have warned that the descent of the balloon while it is flying over the continental United States could result in injury to U.S. civilians or infrastructure on the ground, which could be hit by falling debris.

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The sheriff’s office told Fox News Digital that they had not received any reports of people trying to shoot down the balloon and that the announcement had been made in advance.

Anyone who fires at a Chinese balloon from the ground with handguns will not only miss, but risk hitting unintended targets or people.