Officials: Hacking blamed for emergency sirens blaring in Dallas

Officials said Saturday afternoon that hacking was to blame for the wave of emergency sirens that blared across the Dallas area early Saturday. According to Dallas public information director Sana Syed, there was no actual emergency.

Sirens were reported sounding in other cities besides Dallas, WFAA reported. In Garland, Texas, sirens went off and crews were working to correct the malfunction, according to a police spokesman. 

There are 156 outdoor warning sirens in the city of Dallas. It was not immediately clear how many of the sirens malfunctioned. 

City officials said after the sirens began sounding around 11:44 p.m., there was a surge of calls to 911 — the longest wait time was two minutes, KXAS reported. The sirens were turned off at approximately 1:20 a.m., according to the Dallas Morning News.