Was New York's mass-text manhunt really unprecedented?

Yesterday morning, millions of phones across New York City’s five boroughs blared with a siren-like alarm and an ominous message. "Wanted: Ahmad Khan Rahami, 28-yr-old male. See media for pic," it said. "Call 9-1-1 if seen." Though the text didn’t mention it, Rahami was wanted for questioning over a Saturday bombing in the Manhattan neighborhood of Chelsea — hours later, he would be arrested in Linden, New Jersey, where he was found sleeping in the doorway of a bar.
At a press