The Texas Public Safety Department has apologized for accidentally sending out an Amber alert emergency message that said Chucky, the murderous doll from Child's Play, was the suspect in a kidnapping.
Amber alerts are used to notify the public of a kidnapping or missing child – meaning no one should have gotten one about Chucky, the orange-haired, denim overalls-wearing, rampaging murderous doll from Child's Play. That's what happened to citizens in Texas recently, according to The Guardian.
The Amber alert, which was beamed out to all phones not just once, but three separate times, described the suspect as a 16-pound, 3-foot-1, 28 year-old doll named Chucky, with red-auburn hair and blue eyes. As if that description wasn't enough to confirm that it's the doll we all fear, the alert also said Chucky was seen wearing blue denim overalls with a striped long-sleeve shirt and carrying a large knife. To top it off, the victim in the kidnapping was Chucky's in-universe son, Glen.
It's one thing to receive this message from an unknown number, but imagine receiving this message from your state's official emergency channels. According to The Guardian, Texas Public Safety Department issued an apology, saying said "this alert is a result of a test malfunction," and that it apologizes "for the confusion this may have caused and (the state is) diligently working to ensure this does not happen again."
Confusion is a bit of an understatement considering an Amber alert like this would have been downright terrifying, but nonetheless, it was all the result of a malfunction and not of the horror-slasher character coming to life. Thank goodness.
For more Chucky coverage, be sure to check out our review of his latest movie outing, Child's Play, and then watch this video discussing whether or not Chucky is the greatest movie slasher of all time.
Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.
