A random hotel guest in Boston was detained by federal agents who barged into his hotel room late at night Tuesday and spent an hour there – before the agents realized they had the wrong room number and wrong man.
On April 5 at about 12:20 a.m., FBI agents and military personnel participating in a training exercise made a surprise entrance into room 1505 at the tony Revere Hotel near the Boston Common. It was meant to simulate a situation they “might encounter in a deployed environment,” officials told USA TODAY.
Except the drill wasn’t in room 1505. And the guy in the room wasn’t the role player in on the simulation.
“They were mistakenly sent to the wrong room,” according to a statement from the FBI. While there, the federal authorities detained the room’s occupant in an incident that appeared to stretch on for longer than an hour, a police report shows.
Someone called 911.
When Boston Police arrived, they confirmed it was a botched federal training exercise.
Delta Airlines confirmed in a statement to USA TODAY that the unsuspecting guest who was detained in his hotel room was actually a pilot with the company.
“Delta leaders are in regular contact with our pilot and we remain committed to providing support as needed,” the airline said.
CBS Boston was first to report on the unusual incident.
‘Essential military training’
The FBI said in the statement provided to USA TODAY that it is reviewing the incident in conjunction with the Pentagon.
“Safety is always a priority of the FBI, and our law enforcement partners,” the agency said. “We take these incidents very seriously.”
Members of the US Army Special Operations Command were conducting “essential military training” in Boston on Tuesday with local FBI agents, Lieutenant Colonel Mike Burns at U.S. Army Special Operations Command told The Boston Globe.
“The training was meant to enhance soldiers’ skills to operate in realistic and unfamiliar environments,” Burns said. “The training team, unfortunately, entered the wrong room and detained an individual unaffiliated with the exercise.”
The Globe reported Burns said “this serious incident” is under review.
“First and foremost, we’d like to extend our deepest apologies to the individual who was affected by the training exercise,” he said.
“The safety of civilians in vicinity of our training is always our number one concern,” Burns added. “We are reviewing this serious incident with our partners and no further details will be released at this time.”
Contributing: Jeanine Santucci
