What Is A Blue Alert?

You likely received an alert today on your phone and you may have been wondering, "what is a Blue Alert?"

Today, North Dakota had a Blue Alert and it was my first time ever receiving one of these alerts. I'm sure it was the first time many residents in North Dakota received such an alert.

The system went live on May of 2015, and the purpose of the alert is notify the public about an emergency situation involving a law enforcement officer.  It also alerts off duty officers about an urgent situation.

This is an alert if a suspect is still at large after seriously injuring or killing a law enforcement officer. This was the case today in Bismarck when an incident took place this morning and the alert was activated at 10:55 AM. It's a statewide alert.

Bismarck Police say Ulises Villalobos, a 22 year old Hispanic male, tried to run over a police officer in Bismarck, which sent several schools into a 'shelter in place' as the suspect was still at large. You can read more on the criteria here.

For more on the original story, click here.

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