A false ballistic missile alert was sent to Hawaii citizens, causing a widespread 40-minute panic because an official accidentally triggered the alarm Saturday, Jan. 13. 

Residents abandoned their cars and attempted to take shelter as an emergency alert from the state government warned that an impending missile was targeted for the island, according to the Associated Press. 

By 8 a.m., a mobile alert that read: “BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL” was sent out. However, it was really a false alarm. 

Hawaii Gov. David Ige (D) told reporters that the alert was sent because of a human error that occurred when the emergency employees were changing shifts.

"It was a mistake made during a standard procedure at the change over of a shift, and an employee pushed the wrong button," Ige said. 

It would take an estimated 40 minutes for the U.S. military’s Pacific Command to retract the warning.

President Donald Trump was at the Trump International Golf Course in Florida after the emergency alert was issued at approximately 1:09 p.m. EST, before leaving for Mar-a-Lago around 1:38 p.m., according to pool reports. After being told about the alert, White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said it “was purely a state exercise.”

Instead of taking to Twitter to ease people's fears, Trump continued his attack on the media referencing his comments regarding immigration and the recent book Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff that focuses on his administration. 

State officials like Hawaii House Speaker Scott Saiki said the system failed the citizens of his state.

“Clearly, government agencies are not prepared and lack the capacity to deal with emergency situations,” he said in a statement.

Hawaii U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz tweeted the false alarm was “totally inexcusable." Schatz wrote, "There needs to be tough and quick accountability and a fixed process."

“This false alert is detrimental to the integrity and trust of the emergency management system,” said state Sen. Donna Mercado Kim.

In addition to the attack on media, Trump also retweeted Jack Posobiec who is an alt-right activist who has spread conspiracy theories about the death of former DNC staffer Seth Rich. He also claimed that former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton ran a child sex trafficking ring in a D.C. pizzeria, reports Newsweek.

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