Every New Yorker Recieved An Emergency Alert This Morning

At around 8:00am on Monday the majority of residents in New York received an 'emergency alert' - meaning their phones vibrated and made a loud noise even if they were on silent mode.

The alert, which was targeted geographically, warned New Yorkers that Ahmad Khan Rahami, 28, was wanted by officials in connection with the two explosions, which happened across New York and New Jersey over the weekend, Mashable reported.

Rahami is now in custody so the alert worked. The suspect was arrested after shooting a police officer in Linden, New Jersey.

It's the first time this kind of emergency alert has been sent when authorities are searching for a wanted suspect. The warning system has previously only been used for extreme weather warnings, AMBER alerts and crisis situations.

The notice explained that Rahami is wanted for questioning regarding an explosion in the New York neighbourhood of Chelsea on Saturday night which injured 29 people.

Residents were told to call 911 if they spotted Rahami, who recently lived in Elizabeth, New Jersey and is of Afghan descent.

Here's how New Yorkers reacted to the alert on Twitter...

The fact that Rahami is now in custody shows that the alert worked.

Featured image: NYPD

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Topics: New York, Bomb

James Dawson

James Dawson is a Journalist at LADbible. He has contributed articles to LADbible’s ‘Knowing Me, Knowing EU’ series on the EU referendum, the 'Electoral Dysfunction' series on the 2017 general election, the ‘U OK M8?’ series tackling mental health amongst young men, and for its ‘Climate Change’ initiative in partnership with National Geographic.

@thejaytoday