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.
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.
“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.
Updated: 2:58 p.m.