Hawaiian Emergency Worker Behind False Missile Alert Reassigned

The worker has a new role in Hawaii's Emergency Operations Center pending the results of an internal investigation

The worker who sent Hawaii into a panic by mistakenly sending a missile alert has been reassigned, NBC News reported.

Richard Rapoza, spokesman for the Hawaii Emergency Management System, declined to say Monday what his new duties are. "All we will say is that the individual has been temporarily reassigned within our Emergency Operations Center pending the outcome of our internal investigation, and it is currently in a role that does not provide access to the warning system,” Rapoza said.

At about 8:05 a.m. Saturday, the worker initiated an internal test by accessing a drop-down menu on a computer program which presented him with two options: “Test missile alert” and “Missile alert.” He was supposed to choose the first option. He chose the second.

Copyright The Associated Press
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