‘Wrong Button’ Sent False Missile Alert to Hawaii
Text and TV messages spread panic about attack.
Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast
Hawaii residents woke up to a text message warning of an imminent missile attack on Saturday, though authorities quickly said there was no such threat. “Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek shelter immediately. This is not a drill,” the warning read. The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency tweeted out a statement saying there is “no missile threat” to the area after news of the alerts had flooded Twitter. Hawaii Gov. David Ige later said the warning and subsequent panic were caused by an employee pressing the “wrong button” during a shift change.
No details yet but iPhone users in Hawaii just received this pic.twitter.com/BQwnC9tTM5
— jordan (@JordanUhl) January 13, 2018
NO missile threat to Hawaii.
— Hawaii EMA (@Hawaii_EMA) January 13, 2018
The moment the EAS alert interrupted Hawaiian TV is terrifying pic.twitter.com/pVwpCBeRgD
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) January 13, 2018
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