The Biden administration is weighing a plan to shoot down the Chinese spy balloon that has been moving across the continental United States once it moves over the Atlantic Ocean, The Associated Press reported.
Four U.S. officials told AP that officials could possibly recover the remnants of the balloon after shooting it down once it is not over land. The Biden administration has so far chosen not to shoot the balloon down while it has traveled over the U.S. out of fears that debris could harm people on the ground.
President Biden said after arriving at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in New York on Saturday that the administration would handle the situation.
“We’re gonna take care of it,” he said as he got into a vehicle.
Multiple news outlets reported that some eyewitnesses in North Carolina had spotted the balloon earlier on Saturday flying over the state.
The sheriff’s office for York County, S.C., tweeted just past 11 a.m. that it has heard reports that the balloon is flying over the area.
The balloon was first seen over the continental U.S. over Montana on Wednesday. The Chinese government has claimed it is a weather balloon that was blown off course by wind, but U.S. officials have concluded that the balloon is designed to conduct surveillance.
Officials have said the balloon moving over U.S. territory violates international law and its sovereignty.
While the balloon has remained in the air, officials have reportedly been working to block the balloon’s view and move objects out of its path, according to NBC.
The Pentagon confirmed that a second Chinese “surveillance balloon” was seen over Latin America on Friday.
— Updated 2:26 p.m.