This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Crime & Safety

Area Residents Catch Sights and Sounds of 'SWAT-Like Exercises' in Plainville

Plainville Police announced the end to military training exercises Thursday after catching many residents in the area by surprise Wednesday night with low-flying helicopters and explosions.

If you happened to notice low-flying helicopters in the area Wednesday night you weren’t alone as residents in Foxborough and Wrentham reported the unusual and concerning incident on Facebook pages and to local police.

It turns out the helicopters in the area were part of a U.S. Army Special Operations Forces training exercise taking place in nearby Plainville.

From approximately 8 to 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday night, a training exercise conducted by the U.S. Army Special Operations Forces with permission from Plainville Police Chief James Alfred and Town Manager Joseph Fernandes occurred at the town’s Old Wood School. The exercise saw soldiers in low flying helicopters land at the building and do entries into the facility with ammunition. No live ammo was used during the exercise.

Find out what's happening in Foxboroughwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Residents in Wrentham said they saw about five or six helicopters flying at a low elevation starting at approximately 8 p.m. and the helicopters continued the exercise late into the night.

Responding on the Wrentham Patch Facebook's page, one person says helicopters were seen landing at the Old Wood School in Plainville as part of the exercise as late as 11:30 p.m.

Find out what's happening in Foxboroughwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In Foxborough, residents claimed to have seen helicopters near , where the . Other residents said they could hear the exercises at the Foxborough/Plainville town line.

One Foxborough Patch reader on Facebook called the exercises a “little scary” while residents in Wrentham were asking why they weren’t informed of the situation, calling it “very loud” and “noisy.”

Angry Plainville residents took to Plainville Police’s Facebook to voice frustrations, demanding answers as to why they were hearing explosions and helicopters at “very late hours” without notice.

Originally expected to end well before midnight, an unexpected error forced the exercise to go late into the night, upsetting residents, according to Alfred.

“We were told it would be over by 10 p.m. There were some mechanical difficulties with the planes,” Alfred said.

Due to the simulation style of the training, the military chose to go on and play the situation out instead of ending at the original finish time of 10 p.m., Alfred said.

Due to the unexpected high level of noise, a reverse 911 call was only sent to residents living in a quarter of a mile radius of the Old Wood School.

“In hindsight, I think we should have had a larger radius,” Alfred said.

The quarter mile distance was recommended by the exercise organizers.

Plainville Police announced on its Facebook page Thursday that the exercises have come to an end.

Call for comments: Did you hear or see Wednesday night’s exercises? Tell us about it in the comments section below!

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.