The Sheriff's Department of Hall County, Texas, population 2810, sent out a statewide alert in the wee hours of the morning on Friday, blowing up every cell phone and making citizens generally unhappy.
Residents across the state complained about being jolted out of bed for a "blue alert" about an incident that, for some, took place over 8 1/2 hours away. Even for those close to the area, the description — a tall white guy wearing jeans and a T-shirt — didn't seem likely to yield the suspect's capture. Some users reported receiving the alert even when emergency alerts were turned off. It must have sounded like the end of the world for homes with multiple phones and watches.
The best possible response came via a now-deleted X-Twitter post:
@TxDPS I am begging you to stop sending blue alerts in the middle of the night. I'm sleeping. I will not find the bad guy at 4 am. I am not Batman
According to CBS News, the FCC received almost 4000 complaints about the alert. The Texas Department of Public Safety responded essentially with "too bad."
"We would like to remind the public that Blue Alerts are urgent public safety warnings that are meant to warn people of possible danger. They are designed to speed up the apprehension of violent criminals who kill or seriously wound law enforcement officers by generating tips and leads for the investigating agencies, and therefore giving those agencies the best opportunity to apprehend a dangerous criminal," DPS said.
At least it wasn't a warning about an incoming missile strike.
Previously: Emergency statewide phone alert seeking the Joker's purple and green car was a mistake
