HALL COUNTY, Texas — Shortly before 5 a.m., cellphones across Texas got a Blue Alert issued for a 33-year-old man who was wanted out of Memphis, Texas, up in The Panhandle.
Seth Altman was named as the suspect in the Blue Alert out of Hall County.
KVII in Amarillo reported that Altman is accused of shooting Memphis Police Chief Rex Plant, while Plant was trying to serve a warrant. KVII-TV reports Plant was listed in stable condition at a hospital in Lubbock. A hospital spokesperson did not immediately return a phone call from The Associated Press.
According to the Texas DPS frequently asked questions about emergency alerts, statewide AMBER and Blue Alerts are supposed to only be sent between the hours of 6 a.m. and 11 p.m., to include holidays and weekends. Regional AMBER and Blue Alert hours could differ, according to the FAQ sheet.
It is unclear why the alert was sent seemingly statewide outside of the 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. window.
Regardless, Texans quickly took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to vent out their frustrations with being awakened by the alert.
Here is a look at some of the reaction online:
Texas sending a “blue alert” at 4:50am in the morning is an abuse of the emergency alert system. How many people were woken up in the middle of their sleep by it? Ridiculous.
— Matt Hopkins (@matthopkins_) October 4, 2024
Nobody:Not a single soul:@TexasDPS1 Blue Alert at 4:53 AM this morning. pic.twitter.com/xzGYRdfuOk
— Chase Gilmer (@datboizilla) October 4, 2024
There is no need to have a blue alert alarm go off on our phones when we live hours and hours and hours away. Texas needs to fix this crap. Hall County needed to be looked up to see where it was. Get out of here with that.
— Mike Speer (@realmikespeer) October 4, 2024
No better alarm clock than a blue alert amirite pic.twitter.com/kgZetYAU5t
— Avery Tomasco (@averytomascowx) October 4, 2024
residents all over Texas are up and mad rn 😭 #BlueAlert
— forever astros 🎃🍂⚾️ (@myforeverastros) October 4, 2024
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