Why did a ‘Blue Alert’ pop up on cellphones all over Texas late at night?

Updated at 8:50 p.m .: Completely revised to include additional information from authorities.

Just before 11:30 am Monday night, many Texans’ phones began buzzing with a warning of a “law enforcement blue alert” in their area.

The message didn’t give much detail, just said that the warning was “in this area” and asked people to monitor the radio and television. There were reports of the news across the state.

The warning related to the shooting of an MP on Monday evening in Clay County, about 100 miles northwest of Fort Worth near the Texas-Oklahoma border.

According to the details of the alert, law enforcement officials were looking for a white four-door Cadillac with few details available about the driver of the car.

The wounded MP is supposed to recover. The vehicle was found Tuesday morning, but the shooter remained at large.

But what is a blue alert and what triggered it on Monday night? Here’s what you need to know:

What is a blue alert?

The Blue Alert program was brought into being in August 2008 by an executive order of the then government. Rick Perry.

The alerts are designed to gather tips from the public for catching criminals who kill or seriously injure local, state, or federal law enforcement officers.

Much like Amber Alerts, designed to help rescue abducted children, Blue Alerts provide details about suspects and their vehicles so people can report sightings to authorities.

Only law enforcement agencies can request the Department of Public Safety to issue a Blue Alert.

In order for the DPS to issue a warning, the requesting authority must determine that suspects pose a serious threat to the public or other law enforcement agencies and detailed descriptions of their vehicles must be available.

The DPS website shows five blue alerts issued in 2021, including a case in April where authorities say a man shot a burleson officer during a traffic stop and later fatally shot a woman in a car theft.

State Representative Brooks Landgraf, a West Texas Republican whose bill to create a statewide active shooter warning system goes into effect Sept. 1, tweeted Tuesday night that he was working with DPS to narrow the geographic scope of such warnings.

“I believe that they are more effective that way and lead to less wakefulness,” he wrote.

What triggered the Blue Alert on Monday night?

Monday’s alert was requested from the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.

Clay County Sheriff Jeffrey Lyde said on multiple messages on Facebook that one of his deputies was shot in the chest while approaching a man in a white Cadillac.

Lyde said the deputy, identified by authorities as Breanton Chitwood, was approaching the driver’s side of the car when the man inside opened fire through the window. Chitwood fired several shots back into the car, Lyde said.

It is unclear what led to the encounter or whether the shooter was wounded.

The shooter, who has not been publicly identified, was last seen around 7 p.m. Monday on U.S. Highway 287 heading north in Jolly, southeast of Wichita Falls, according to Blue Alert.

Police officers issued the Blue Alert for a white four-door Cadillac.(Clay County Sheriff’s Office)

He was driving a white four-door Cadillac with the Texan license plate FXJ-1334 – police officers believe both the car and license plate were stolen. The vehicle was found parked behind an office building in downtown Wichita Falls just before 8 a.m. Tuesday morning.

Pictures released by the police showed two bullet holes in the rear window of the car. In addition, there appeared to be damage to the driver’s door and the rear driver’s side of the vehicle that could not be seen in images previously released by the authorities.

The Blue Alert was discontinued after police found the car, but an update from DPS found the shooter remained at large. The physical description of him only said that he was a white man with thin stature, wearing dark clothes and a cap with a flat beak.

The authorities did not report on Tuesday evening that they had found the man.

The sheriff’s office posted on Facebook screenshots of two complaints it received about the Blue Alert from Texans saying they live hundreds of miles from Clay County, as well as a picture of a Houston man calling to say that he has “no business”. Receive notifications when your officers have a boo-boo. “

The post read: “I think not everyone is as excited as we are that our deputy came out well.”

‘We’ll get you’

In a video posted from the hospital on Monday, Lyde showed Chitwood’s injury, which he said was to the left of the center of his chest.

Sheriff Jeffrey Lyde pointed out where the bullet hit the deputy’s vest.(Clay County Sheriff’s Office)

In the video, Chitwood sat upright and gave the camera a small smile. Lyde said Chitwood’s body armor stopped the bullet and that he “will be fine”.

Lyde praised Chitwood’s behavior on Monday night, saying the injured deputy even tried to chase the Cadillac.

“I think he did a hell of a job,” said Lyde. But the sheriff had a message for the man who shot his deputy.

“To the guy who did this today: You didn’t get my guy,” said Lyde. “You shot him in the vest, you didn’t get him. But we’ll get you. Bet that.”

On Tuesday evening, Lyde said there wasn’t much new information to publicly report on the case, but said investigators were making progress.

“We’re closer to this guy than ever,” he said. “I bet he doesn’t have another 24 to 36 hours [before] my boys will get it because they don’t take breaks. “

Crime Stoppers is offering a $ 5,000 reward to anyone with information leading to the suspect’s arrest and conviction. On Facebook, Lyde said he agreed to double the $ 5,000 reward. In a Facebook post, Wichita police said any information made in the first 48 hours after the incident leading to an arrest would result in an additional $ 500. The Hunt County Sheriff’s Office is also offering a $ 1,000 reward.

Anyone with information about the suspect or the incident can contact the Clay County Sheriff’s Office at 940-538-5611.

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