When the accidental missile threat message was sent out to citizens of Hawaii on Saturday, police delayed their cancellation of the message and many wondered why.
According to a new report, shortly after the message went out, Hawaii law enforcement officials were told that the message was “just a drill.”
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Many 911 recordings from officers to dispatchers from that day revealed that they were all just as confused as to what was going as citizens were, but that they received their information about five minutes after the message initially went out.
One officer was heard asking, “Is this legit?” Another person could be heard explaining that someone “sent out the wrong message and they’re working on sending out the correct one now.” “Someone should get fired,” the officer fired back, as reported by The Daily Mail.
STATEMENT: While I am thankful this morning’s alert was a false alarm, the public must have confidence in our emergency alert system. I am working to get to the bottom of this so we can prevent an error of this type in the future.
— Governor David Ige (@GovHawaii) January 13, 2018
The day after the incident, Hawaii’s governor, David Ige released a statement explaining what happened.
“On Saturday, Hawai’i’s residents and visitors experienced an unfortunate situation that has never happened before and will never happen again – a false alert issued by the Hawai’i Emergency Management Agency that a ballistic missile was on its way to the Hawaiian Islands,” the statement began.
“On behalf of the State of Hawai’i, I deeply apologize for this false alert that created stress, anxiety and fear of a crisis in our residents and guests. I can personally assure each and every resident and visitor that steps have already been taken by the Hawai’i Emergency Management Agency to ensure that a situation of this type never happens again, ” Ige’s statement also read.
“The Hawai’i Emergency Management Agency is committed to protecting the people of Hawai’i, and over the past year it has been taking responsible measures to prepare for the highly unlikely event of a missile attack. As a state government, we must learn from this unfortunate error and continue to prepare for any safety threat to Hawai’i’s residents and visitors – whether it is a man-made threat or a natural disaster such as a hurricane or tsunami,” continued the message.
“In the next few days, I will continue meeting with our emergency preparedness team and personally talking with families, individuals and leaders from around our state to ensure we reach every household. We must also do what we can to demand peace and a de-escalation of tensions with North Korea,” Ige added.
Finally, the governor’s message concluded, “Again, on behalf of the State of Hawai’i, I apologize for yesterday’s events and any hardship and inconvenience this created for you, your family and loved ones.”
