Sûreté du Québec Is Investigating Why Yesterday's Emergency Alert Reached Montreal
At least we all know where Saint-Elzéar-de-Bonaventure is now...
Sûreté du Québec car. Right: Quebec Emergency Alert notification.
On Friday, September 2, Quebec's Minister of Public Security sent out a provincewide alert regarding an "armed and dangerous suspect," located in the town of Saint-Elzéar-de-Bonaventure.
In a since-deleted tweet issued at 3:27 p.m. Friday, Sûreté du Québec (SQ) indicated that the suspect was near the intersection of chemin Central and Route de l'Est — warning nearby residents to lock their doors and stay away from windows.
\u201c#Alerte MENACE IMMINENTE termin\u00e9e\n\nLe suspect a \u00e9t\u00e9 retrouv\u00e9 et ma\u00eetris\u00e9 dans le secteur de Saint-Elz\u00e9ar-de-Bonaventure par les policiers. L\u2019enqu\u00eate suit son cours et le suspect sera rencontr\u00e9 par les enqu\u00eateurs.\u201d— S\u00fbret\u00e9 du Qu\u00e9bec (@S\u00fbret\u00e9 du Qu\u00e9bec) 1662169615
As of 9:47 p.m. Friday, the SQ reported that the suspect had been found and contained. However, comments on both that tweet and the tweet about verifying why the alert was sent out across the province in the first place have been turned off. Hm...
The emergency alert went on to notify Montrealers around 3:30 p.m. regarding the dangerous situation...a dangerous situation located roughly nine hours away from the 514. So, why did we receive the alert to being with? Well, the Sûreté du Québec is looking into just that.
\u201chttps://t.co/VV10lKkALW\u201d— S\u00fbret\u00e9 du Qu\u00e9bec (@S\u00fbret\u00e9 du Qu\u00e9bec) 1662152518
"We are aware that the alarm in the area has been heard throughout the province. We are also aware of the inconvenience this may have caused some. Verification is underway to determine the causes of the problem encountered," the Sûreté du Québec wrote.
The emergency alert was even sent out to folks living as far out as Ottawa — sparking a lot of concerns, confusion and pretty hilarious reactions.
\u201cWhy were we given an emergency alert about an armed and dangerous person in Quebec, that's about 10 hours drive from Ottawa?\u201d— Taibhse - Sometimes I win \ud83d\udc7b\ud83d\udd96 (@Taibhse - Sometimes I win \ud83d\udc7b\ud83d\udd96) 1662148255
\u201cwtf was that emergency alert for someone with a gun that is happening 8 hours away from me, i love quebec so much i enjoyed getting a heart attack while driving\u201d— marie \u2728 (@marie \u2728) 1662147565
\u201cWhy in hell am I getting an emergency alert for some armed and dangerous dude, in the middle of butt &@$? Nowhere Quebec, and I\u2019m happily in good ole Barrhaven!! Time to maybe revamp the system a little. Twice now my phone has scared the shit out of me\u201d— Chapman Mills Small Engine Repairs (@Chapman Mills Small Engine Repairs) 1662148985
Despite the potential mishap, at least we all know a little bit more about small towns located in Gaspé, right?
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
