Batman-Themed ‘Emergency Alert’ Sent Out By Mistake Has US State Asking If Gotham City Is Real

Tuesday evening alert was a mistake. The Missouri State Highway Patrol sent another one later, asking people to disregard the earlier one.

There is no Gotham City, Missouri. It’s a fictional place, home to Batman, the Joker and many other DC Comics characters. (Photo source: Getty)

New Delhi: Authorities in ‘Gotham City, Missouri’, were searching for a purple and green 1978 Dodge 3700GT — an ‘emergency alert’ sent out by the Missouri State Highway Patrol said Tuesday evening, leaving people wondering what it was all about. 

There is no Gotham City, Missouri, Batman fans would know. It’s a fictional place, home to Batman, the Joker and many other DC Comics characters.

And if the car number referenced in the alert sounds familiar, it's the same one used by the Joker in the 1989 “Batman” film. 

The alert went out around 4:45 pm on Tuesday.

Turns out it was a mistake. The Missouri State Highway Patrol sent another one later, asking people to disregard the earlier one, AP reported.

In a statement, the patrol said they were conducting a routine test of Missouri’s Blue Alert system, and the message was inadvertently transmitted statewide. 

“During the test, an option was incorrectly selected, allowing the message to be disseminated to the public,” the news release said. 

The system has been designed to let the public know when a police officer is killed or seriously injured on duty, according to the AP report.

Meanwhile, many people took to Twitter to express their amusement after getting the alert.

Most of them, it seems, had figured the Batman reference.

so you're telling me that the joker's car from 1989's cinematic masterpiece Batman is currently terrorizing gotham city, missouri pic.twitter.com/lEahgXBDYY

— The Great Value Gatsby (@ZachLeffers) January 18, 2022

Happy Gotham City, Mo Day! pic.twitter.com/3oH9H37qid

— Lacey Hatcher (@hatchermath) January 18, 2022

I THINK THE EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM GOT HACKED???? There is no Gotham City, MO and the desc is straight up the Joker’s car from the 1989 Batman???? pic.twitter.com/LX8aThJ4OJ

— 🔞 Luke ➡️ OC Brainworms (@approvalremova1) January 18, 2022

GOTHAM CITY IS SAVED pic.twitter.com/5o5qVkX4OC

— 𝙅𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙙 🎁 Divsional vs BUF (@DennyHamlinSZN) January 18, 2022