Alarming Emergency Message a "Test" Verizon Says

A text message warning users of an impending civil defense emergency, left local residents and police officers alarmed and confused Monday. Police later learned from the Office of Emergency Management that there was in fact no impending danger.

"The phones lit up like a Christmas tree," said Sgt. William Lucia of Eatontown's police department. Lucia said that the calls began pouring in while his dispatcher was out to lunch.  He said the patrol officer working the desk had to pull in a lieutenant to help man the phones.

The emergency text message delivered to some residents of Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean Counties. The text, which told them to seek shelter from an impending civil defense emergency, was a test, according to Verizon. From Verizon's official statement:

"This test message was not clearly identified as a test. We apologize for any inconvenience or concern this message may have caused."

Red Bank Police Capt. Darren McConnell said his department was notified by New Jersey State Police that a text message informing residents to take immediate shelter until the relatively random time of 1:24 p.m. went out to some mobile subscribers at around noon. 

Eatontown's Lucia said his department never got a call from the state police and was left fielding calls from residents and one person who claimed to work for a government agency who was looking for answers as well. Lucia said that one of his fellow officers was among the recipients of the message. "It was bizarre," he said.

Tinton Falls police confirmed that they were aware of the false text and received calls about it from residents.

Red Bank's McConnell said most of the emergency reports came from those with Verizon service, though not all Verizon devices were impacted. McConnell said Red Bank sent out its own alert to alleviate any concerns.

“Some people, not through our alerting system, including some of our police and residents, got a message warning of a civil defense emergency and were told to take shelter right away,” he said. “There’s no emergency at all.”

Det. Lt. Lawrence J. Tyler of Eatontown said his department advised callers that Eatontown wasn't aware of any problems. "We advised callers that we would use our Code Red reverse messaging system to update our residents if we were alerted that there was an actual emergency," he said.