Hawaii employee who sent false missile alert fired; top official resigns

Hawaiian Governor David Ige admitted that there was a delay in notifying the public about the false missile alert earlier this month

The head of Hawaii's emergency management agency has resigned and a state employee who sent out a false alarm of an incoming ballistic missile has been fired, officials said on Tuesday, after the mistake caused statewide panic earlier this month.

The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, according to the Washington Post, issued the threat alarm at 8:07 a.m. on January 13 and two minutes later the alert was sent across the state, to which Hawaiian Governor David Ige was told that it was a false one.

Ige later admitted that there was a delay in notifying the public about the false missile alert earlier this month as he did not know the password of his Twitter account.

 

On January 13, Hawaiian citizens received an emergency alert on their phones that read, "BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL."

Approximately 38 minutes following the alert, the Hawaii authority took to Twitter to inform that there was, "NO missile threat" to the state.

The White House issued a statement on the false alarm, noting that United States President Donald Trump had been briefed on the incident.