Hawaii officials say ‘false alarm’ on alert about inbound ballistic missile

by Julia Manchester - 01/13/18 1:29 PM ET

Hawaii officials said Saturday that a mobile alert saying a ballistic missile was headed for the state was a “false alarm” after people received the alert detailing an imminent threat.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) issued a tweet saying that “there is no incoming missile to Hawaii,” saying she had confirmed with officials the alert was a false alarm.

Hawaii’s Emergency Management Agency also confirmed on Twitter that there was no threat. Another alert was sent out 38 minutes later calling the initial alert a false alarm.

HAWAII – THIS IS A FALSE ALARM. THERE IS NO INCOMING MISSILE TO HAWAII. I HAVE CONFIRMED WITH OFFICIALS THERE IS NO INCOMING MISSILE. pic.twitter.com/DxfTXIDOQs

— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) January 13, 2018

NO missile threat to Hawaii.

— Hawaii EMA (@Hawaii_EMA) January 13, 2018

U.S. Pacific Command spokesman Cmdr. David Benham said in a statement that the military “has detected no ballistic missile threat to Hawaii” and that an “earlier message was sent in error.”

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President Trump was briefed on the situation Saturday afternoon while in Florida for the weekend, the White House said.

“The President has been briefed on the state of Hawaii’s emergency management exercise. This was purely a state exercise,” White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said.

Hawaii lawmakers quickly decried the false alert, with Sens. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) calling for changes to ensure similar errors didn’t happen again.

“What happened today is totally inexcusable. The whole state was terrified. There needs to be tough and quick accountability and a fixed process,” Schatz wrote on Twitter.

The false alarm comes amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and North Korea over Pyongyang’s nuclear program and continued testing of ballistic missiles.

“The people of Hawaii just got a taste of the stark reality of what we face here with a potential nuclear strike on Hawaii,” Gabbard said during a phone interview Saturday on CNN.

“This is a real threat facing Hawaii,” she added, referencing residents being forced into a situation where they had to rush for cover.

The Hawaii Democrat said officials she spoke with indicated that the initial alert was sent out inadvertently, characterizing it as an accident.

Multiple members of the media and others shared the mobile alert they received Saturday, which warned of an inbound ballistic missile threat and called for people to seek immediate shelter.

Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill. pic.twitter.com/tlJYNwCr1A

— Ryan Ozawa (@hawaii) January 13, 2018

Uh… pic.twitter.com/3tgJNFyyPU

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) January 13, 2018

6 mins into our ride here in Hawaii and this is the text I just received? Not sure what to do. Sirens are going off. pic.twitter.com/D5USDAw3wp

— Emily Batty (@emilybatty) January 13, 2018

Updated: 2:58 p.m.

Tags Brian Schatz Donald Trump Mazie Hirono Missile defense Missile Defense Agency Tulsi Gabbard Tulsi Gabbard