In a puff of smoke the Spy Balloon was hit and then a second later the contrail of the USAF fighter jet flew by the deflated balloon as it fell towards the ocean.

The live stream view showed the very second the spy balloon was hit. It then elongated and started falling towards the ocean within the 12 miles from the South Carolina coast. US Navy ships and boats of various sizes are now rushing to the area to collect the debris of the spy balloon.
Three airports were shut down in the major cities along the coast and a no fly zone was established as this operation was ongoing.

Navy seals are being sent to the area to retrieve the Chinese spy balloon.
Numerous politicians are condemning Biden for not shooting down the balloon sooner. Biden just spoke up at an airport and said he ordered the balloon to be shot down Wednesday, but his advisors said it was better to wait until it was over water to avoid damage to people on the ground.
There were unverified reports that there was radioactive material in the payload, and that there was a danger of it harming US citizens. It could have also included germ warfare material. There were simply too many unknowns which caused the US government to wait until the huge spy balloon was over water and away from cities.
At this time there is no further reports on how the recovery operation is going. However, this was a big wake up call for America and is seen as a direct violation of US sovereignty. At this time there is no comment from the Chinese communist government. GE

falling spy balloon
https://myfox8.com/video/video-of-chinese-spy-balloon-falling/8363039/