Myrtle Beach mayor speaks out after Chinese balloon shot down off South Carolina coast

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - Myrtle Beach’s mayor says she wants answers after a Chinese balloon was shot down after being sighted in parts of the city on Saturday.

In a Facebook post, Mayor Brenda Bethune said she has “concerns about how the federal government can allow a foreign adversary to fly uninterrupted from Montana to our doorstep.”

She also said she wants to hear from federal officials about how it all happened and what could be done to prevent it in the future.

The Associated Press reported Saturday that President Joe Biden first issued an order to take the balloon down on Wednesday, but was advised that the best time to do so would be when it was over the ocean when it no longer posed a threat to people on the ground.

A senior defense official said the balloon was shot down six nautical miles off the South Carolina coast a short time after it was spotted across parts of the Grand Strand and Pee Dee.

The Pentagon has accused the balloon of being a tool of espionage by the Chinese, a claim the latter has denied.

Stay with WMBF News for updates.