This is reminiscent of the WW2 "Battle of Los Angeles" on Feb 25, 1942, in which anti-aircraft fire filled the air. In the end in may have been over a weather balloon.
But that didn't stop the press. They went overboard with theories like that Japanese Americans signaling submarines off the coast to help with the "attack" on Los Angeles. In the end, FDR's Executive Order 9066 (to surveil Japanese in America) was expanded to start interring Japanese. In part because the media was yelling that somebody ought to do something!
But the media today who tells us to feel guilty over the internment camps always fail to remind us of the role that the hyperbolic media played in it.
And, they missed the German saboteurs south of Jacksonville, FL who came ashore and infiltrated, and other locations (Brooklyn!!) where they were all caught, and... they were executed. History doesn’t cover it much, and the press of the time missed it entirely (perhaps because they were told to shut the hell up). The treatment of Nisei (2nd/3rd gen. Japanese/Americans), seizure of their numerous farms and businesses never really returned to them, vs the Monte Casino Nisei division’s sacrifice in the attack/taking the fortress— differs from the many German Americans who went to join German Units and form secret units behind US lines (which did happen quite a bit).
All of which goes to show how the press makes its dough— from manure they stir.