This morning just before 8:00 a.m. EST, cell phones throughout New York City’s five boroughs and the surrounding areas started making a very grating sound.

It was immediately recognizable as the sort of noise that usually indicates an AMBER Alert has been issued or maybe really severe weather is on the way, but when New Yorkers picked up their phones to see what the fuss was about, they saw a new kind of message. What was written on the home screen of every cell phone in the city was unprecedented. For the first time ever, the government used an emergency alert to tell the public about a possibly armed suspect on the run. That suspect, Ahmad Khan Rahami, was wanted for questioning about the explosions that took place over the weekend.

“See media for pic. Call 9-1-1 if seen.” pic.twitter.com/A8sX1W3yY6 — Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) September 19, 2016

It had the intended sobering effect…

Chilling moment in packed subway car when everyone’s phone buzzed w alert about bombing suspect at the same second. — James Bennet (@JBennet) September 19, 2016

An uneasy milestone: the moment we were eating breakfast and our phones shrieked with the name of a bombing suspect. — jodikantor (@jodikantor) September 19, 2016

Everybody on my delayed @JetBlue plane at JFK just got the blaring Apple alert re: Ahmad Khan Rahami, sought for NYC bombing on Sat. — Gordon Deal (@GordonDeal) September 19, 2016

Just got an emergency alert on my phone about the suspect in the NYC bombings. Never seen that before. #NYCExplosion — Mike Feldman (@feldmike) September 19, 2016

On the subway, everyone’s phones went off simultaneously w/emergency alert about Ahmad Khan Rahami. Like something out of a dystopian movie — Pamela Engel (@PamEngel12) September 19, 2016

Reading tweets about simultaneous #emergencyalert all of #NYC got this morning reminds me of “The Giver.” #ChelseaExplosion #ChelseaNYC — Jennifer E. Landers (@officialjels) September 19, 2016

…but a lot of people were not happy to have their phones used like that. There was immediate outcry over the lack of details in the notification. It only included the suspect’s name. There was no license plate number, there was no picture, and there was no identifying information beyond his name, which only hints at his ethnic origins. There was concern that innocent men who look like they have a similar background could be targeted.

give the state direct access to your phone and it’ll deputize you to hunt muslims https://t.co/RtYsQedwGQ pic.twitter.com/WyEZdtlcsz — Max Read (@max_read) September 19, 2016

Couple thoughts on this AM’s Emergency Alert: First, it was incomplete and lazy. Person of interest? Suspect? Photo? No idea. Google it NYC. — Meaghan Wagner (@maegahan) September 19, 2016

Hey news outlets, want a quote from a Real New Yorker? The iPhone alert I got about the bomb suspect scares me way more than the bomb. — Victoria McNally (@vqnerdballs) September 19, 2016

A compulsory alert sent to every New Yorker’s iPhone at 8 am is definitely *not* the kind of thing that adds to disproportionate hysteria — Suzanne Highland (@emotingsweater) September 19, 2016

Some people just made jokes. There will always be those who just make jokes.

Sending out an emergency alert to people’s phones before 8 am is a form of terrorism. — Jess Dweck (@TheDweck) September 19, 2016

Rahami was caught this morning in New Jersey. Whether it had anything to do with the terrifying alert remains to be seen.

[image via screengrab]

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