14 January 2018•Update: 14 January 2018
By Kasim Ileri
WASHINGTON
The U.S. Department of Defense confirmed Saturday that a missile alert to Hawaiians was sent by mistake.
In a statement, the Pentagon said: “The U.S. Pacific Command has detected no ballistic missile threat to Hawaii. Earlier message was sent in error. of Hawaii will send out a correction message as soon as possible.”
The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency tweeted earlier that no missile threat existed.
Earlier on Saturday, locals in Hawaii received a text message read in all capital letters “Ballistic Missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill.”
The alert, which came in the wake of nuclear threats between the U.S. and North Korea, caused widespread panic among the locals.
Richard , the spokesman for the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, said that it was a false alert and the agency was trying to determine what happened.