Tornado Sirens Mistakenly Sounded In Lafayette

LAFAYETTE, Colo. (AP) — Authorities think a software error may be to blame for tornado warning sirens mistakenly going off in Lafayette.

The sirens blared just after 3 a.m. Thursday, just hours after severe thunderstorms and tornadoes hit eastern Colorado.

The Boulder County Sheriff's Office is in charge of activating the sirens and also provides dispatch services for five law enforcement agencies. Division Chief Bob Sullenberger says the sirens were mistakenly turned on when the sheriff's office was paging officers to respond to an unrelated police operation.

Software engineers are looking into what went wrong.

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