Army special operations soldiers and FBI agents stormed a hotel suite in Boston earlier this week, nabbing a man they believed was the “suspect” in a training exercise. They quickly handcuffed the man and interrogated him for about 30 minutes.
But there was a slight problem. They were in the wrong room: Local media said the unidentified guest was an airline pilot resting in his room between flights.
“The training was meant to enhance soldiers’ skills to operate in realistic and unfamiliar environments. The training team, unfortunately, entered the wrong room and detained an individual unaffiliated with the exercise,” Lt. Col. Mike Burns, a spokesman for the Army’s Special Operations Command, said in a statement.
Hotel security notified the Boston police, whose investigation determined it was a training exercise gone awry, officials said.
Boston FBI officials told local media the soldiers and agents went to the wrong room based on faulty information they had been given in their briefing. The off-duty airline pilot wasn’t injured and reportedly refused medical treatment by paramedics who responded to the scene. The Army is reviewing the incident and declined to provide further details about what happened.
“The safety of civilians in the vicinity of our training is always our number one concern,” Lt. Col. Burns said. “We’d like to extend our deepest apologies to the individual who was affected by the training exercise.”
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.