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Local couple in Hawaii during false alert about ballistic missile attack

Posted at 11:31 PM, Jan 13, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-13 23:31:22-05

People panicked in Hawaii Saturday, after emergency management sent false push alerts about a ballistic missile attack. One couple from Palm Harbor was honeymooning in Maui when they received the alerts.

"I just kind of looked at her and jokingly I told her, you know, hey babes, it was good while it lasted," Joseph Benavides said.

After two weeks of bliss, Benavides and his new wife panicked after they received these missile threat alerts.

"My wife, she looked out the hallways and we're just hearing people running, we're hearing little kids crying, parents are just hustling you can tell people were like in a state of shock," Benavides said.

That shock, rippled throughout Hawaii. The governor said emergency management made an error during an employee shift change, triggering the false alarm.

"What happened today was totally unacceptable and many in our community was deeply affected by this and I'm sorry," Governor David Ige said.

He assured people that procedures are changing and no single person will be able to activate this warning again.

"Honestly, I'm still in a little bit of a shock, with the wifey, but, we're doing better now and a lot of people now are just going about their day, about their vacation," Benavides said.

Benavides and his wife are also trying to enjoy their vacation before heading home Sunday, safe.

"Hey, I'm grateful I'm still alive I'm still breathing and I don't take anything away from this exciting journey that I've had so far on my honeymoon," Benavides said.

The FCC is investigating what happened.