The citizens of Old Saybrook, Conn. got quite a shock Sunday afternoon when speakers all over the town told them to seek shelter from a terrorist attack to come.
The recorded message was broadcast over the Emergency Management Public Address system. Shortly after the town sent calls to residents telling them there was no terrorist attack and apologizing for the error.
Old Saybrook officials are now investigating how a dispatcher triggered the alert, according to the Associated Press.
“It was a mistake, and I assume measures will be taken so that mistake does not happen again,” First Selectman Carl Fortuna Jr. told AP.
According to Fire Chief John Dunn, steps have already been taken to prevent the possibility of a future false activation.
“While this wasn’t a Fire Dept issue we also apologize that the public experienced this issue today,” wrote John Dunn in a message on the Fire Department’s Facebook page.“We hope that today’s activation error won’t hamper the publics future reaction to real emergencies.”
