Warning sirens in 2 North Texas cities hacked, set off with ‘hostile intent,’ city says

Emergency warning sirens were hacked and intentionally set off in two North Texas cities early Tuesday morning, according to a statement from one of the cities.

At about 2:30 a.m., sirens went off in Lancaster and DeSoto despite there being no severe weather. Lancaster officials said the cities’ alarm network was falsely set off.

“It has become evident that a person or persons with hostile intent deliberately targeted our combined outdoor warning siren network,” a statement from the city of Lancaster said.

Lancaster officials said in the statement they consulted with technical experts and turned information over to police for investigation.

“Sabotage against a public warning system is more than vandalism. It is a criminal act and those responsible are subject to arrest and prosecution,” the statement said.

The city was especially concerned about the alarm system due to the chance of severe weather tonight and Wednesday.

Lancaster’s statement encouraged people to sign up for Code Red emergency weather warnings online, visit the National Weather Service Ft. Worth website or listen to the emergency weather radio station NOAA Weather Radio for Texas online.

The DeSoto police department posted about the false alarm on Facebook, saying the sirens’ activation was part of a malfunction and is being investigated. The department was not immediately available for further comment Tuesday night.

This story was originally published March 12, 2019 at 8:20 PM.