DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — A nationwide cyberattack has taken the CodeRED alert system offline, leaving Colorado counties like Douglas and Weld scrambling to notify residents during emergencies and forcing officials to rely on backup plans and partnerships with neighboring counties.
Tuesday morning, residents in a Southeast Highlands Ranch neighborhood were told to shelter in place. Douglas County deputies were searching for two suspects connected to a stabbing, but without the usual alert system, deputies had to get creative with alerting neighbors to keep them safe.
Early Highlands Ranch shelter-in-place was due to woman stabbed; suspect in custody
“Getting out immediate information to the public is a huge benefit for us, especially when they get a text alert and people actually look at their phone, said Deputy Daniel Carlin, with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. “Not having CodeRED with us is very difficult. So, until we find something else, it’s going to have to be social media and door knocks.”
That’s just one of the impacts for officers. There’s also an impact on people who signed up…