Storms start to move out of Minnesota, continue for western Wisconsin

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Lakeville police say they’re working with Dakota County 911 officials to determine why a shelter-in-place cancellation alert was sent to phones Thursday afternoon across a wider-than-intended area.

The alert stemmed from the search for a suspect with multiple felony warrants who fled from police in the area of Cedar Avenue and 190th Street. The man reportedly hit a squad car before abandoning his vehicle and fleeing on foot.

As authorities used K-9 units, drones and a State Patrol helicopter to search for the man, a shelter-in-place alert was sent to nearby residents as a precaution.

At about 4 p.m., the search was scaled back, and a cancellation alert was issued. That’s the alert that buzzed on phones elsewhere across Twin Cities.

“We are actively working with our partners at Dakota 911 to troubleshoot and identify the cause” of that alert being sent to phones outside the immediate area, Lakeville police said in a news release on Thursday.

The man being sought by police was spotted by a resident about an hour later, and taken into custody without further incident.

The incident was at least the fourth time in recent years that a public safety alert was inadvertently sent to a wider area of Minnesota than authorities intended.

inadvertently sent to all of Hennepin County

shelter in place cleared

why localized alert was sent to phones across Twin Cities

MPR News Staff

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The alert stemmed from the search for a suspect with multiple felony warrants who fled from police.

Lakeville shelter-in-place cancellation alert sent to larger-than-intended area

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