WATCH: Hawaii Governor Explains Ballistic Missile Panic: Someone ‘Pressed the Wrong Button’

“We definitely need to improve our procedures,” says Hawaii Gov. David Ige, telling reporters that false ballistic missile alert was caused by someone pushing “the wrong button” https://t.co/NCVtyRxlOa https://t.co/7PrEk68pXD

— CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) January 13, 2018

Hawaii Governor David Ige explained that the accidental emergency alert sent out to his state warning that a ballistic missile threat was imminent was the result of an employee pushing the wrong button during a shift change.

“This change in the shift routine happens three times a day, seven days a week, 365 times out of the year,” Ige explained. “For the most part it occurs flawlessly. There was an error today, and we will be investigating and changing our procedures to avoid this from ever happening again.”

CNN correspondent Sara Sidner reported the governor explained the false alarm was triggered by someone who “pushed the wrong button.”

No, seriously:

“There was a shift change, the governor said. And during that shift change––it was a routine shift change––someone accidentally, and this is how he put it, pressed the wrong button. And that sent out the alert, not only to cell phones, but also the emergency alert to television stations as well as the radio stations.”

Some people were a little, well, stunned by that:

man, “wrong button pushed during shift change” is really not the explanation you want to hear.

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) January 13, 2018

The worst thing that should happen when an employee pushes the “wrong” button is a supervisor has to come out and void the sale https://t.co/nBjplxZuOE

— Ike Barinholtz (@ikebarinholtz) January 13, 2018

This was a pretty specific message: “this is not a drill” “take immediate action” “a missile may impact on land or sea within minutes.” “Remain indoors well away from windows.” All of that because “somebody pressed the wrong button”?

— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) January 13, 2018

AYFKM. https://t.co/fzuHd4Q5O8

— Jeff B. (@EsotericCD) January 13, 2018

Watch above, via CNN.

[image via screengrab]

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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

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