The Nebraska State Patrol is apologizing for sending an emergency test alert to cellphones around the state late Tuesday night, waking people up after they had gone to bed. “We sure do apologize to everybody who got a late night wake up call. It certainly wasn’t supposed to happen,” NSP spokesman Cody Thomas tells KLIN News.
The alert triggered a loud, jarring alarm on cellphones shortly after 11 p.m. drawing complaints on social media. Thomas says it was supposed to be a regular monthly test alert that should have gone only to broadcast stations and households with the television turned on. “Operator error led to it being sent to all cellphones in the state through the wireless emergency alert,” Thomas says.
The patrol says it was conducting a required monthly test of the state’s Emergency Alert System, which is conducted on the third Tuesday of every month.