Residents went into a panic.
After Hawaii residents received a false alarm about an impending missile strike Saturday, officials said the mistake was caused by an employee who had pushed the wrong button.
At a news conference Saturday, officials said the employee greatly regrets his mistake.
"This guy feels bad, right. He's not doing this on purpose — it was a mistake on his part and he feels terrible about it," said Vern Miyagi, who oversees the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (EMA).
Migayi said the system went into actual event mode instead of test mode.
"There is a screen that says, 'Are you sure you want to do this?'" Miyagi said.
The employee then confirmed the alert, officials said.
The employee, who was not identified, will be “counseled and drilled” so that it never happens again, Miyagi stated.
The mass text alert went out Saturday morning around 8 a.m. and read: "Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill.”
Many expressed their panic over social media as the U.S. and North Korea have exchanged threatening tweets of Nuclear war in recent months.
Minutes after the alert, however, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) said she had confirmed there was no missile.
“HAWAII - THIS IS A FALSE ALARM. THERE IS NO INCOMING MISSILE TO HAWAII. I HAVE CONFIRMED WITH OFFICIALS THERE IS NO INCOMING MISSILE,” Gabbard tweeted.
Honolulu Police Department also later confirmed there was no threat in an online statement.
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