(NewsNation) — Texas residents were awakened by an early morning phone alert Friday after the Texas Department of Public Safety issued a Blue Alert for a man wanted by police for an incident involving a law enforcement officer.
The Blue Alert, which is one form of an alert sent out by Texas law enforcement to residents statewide, hit cellphones before 5 a.m. Friday, according to a DPS statement. In the alert, the agency said it is searching for 33-year-old Seth Altman, who is wanted out of a rural town in the Texas Panhandle.
The alert indicated that Altman is wanted for his involvement in the killing or serious injury of a law enforcement officer. The alert did not mention any further details about the incident in which Altman is wanted.
For a Blue Alert to be issued, a case must meet several requirements, according to the DPS:
- A law enforcement officer must have been either killed or seriously injured by an offender.
- The investigating police agency must determine that the suspect poses a serious risk or threat to the public and other law enforcement officers.
- A detailed description of the offender’s vehicle, vehicle tags, or partial tag must be available for broadcast.
- The investigating police agency must recommend the activation of the Blue Alert to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
According to the DPS website, Blue Alerts are part of the state’s wireless emergency alert system, which involves four types of alerts that are sent out by state law enforcement officials. The alerts arrive in the form of a text message-like message in which cellphones vibrate or deliver an audible tone.
The agency said residents are not able to disable Blue Alerts, which are typically sent out between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. local time. However, in the case of a Blue Alert, the notifications may arrive outside of the normal time frame of distribution, the agency said.
Altman is being sought by police officials in Memphis, Texas, which is located in Hall County, about 90 miles southeast of Amarillo. He is considered armed and dangerous, and on the alert residents were warned not to approach Altman if he is spotted.
Friday’s Blue Alert caused Altman’s name to begin trending on X, formerly known as Twitter. However, rather than express concern or caution about the missing suspect, residents took to the social media platform for being woken from their sleep so early.
“Seth Altman just pissed off the entire state of Texas,” one X user wrote.
Another wrote that there was nowhere to hide for Altman, who caused the entire state of Texas to be “mad at you for walking us up,” the tweet said with the hashtag of #BlueAlert.
Altman is described as being 6-foot-2, 220 pounds with red or auburn hair. He was last seen wearing a blue T-shirt and blue jeans, the alert said.