Military Drill Gives Bowie Residents A Scare

After hearing a loud boom followed by sounds of what appeared to be explosions around 3:30 a.m., Mary Lampe, 70, of Bowie, said her husband, Don, promptly called 911.

“We thought it was gunfire, and it sounded like it was coming from the direction of Melford,” said Mary Lampe, who lives on Forest Drive, recalling the Oct. 7 incident. “It was disturbing to be honest.”

At 4:23 a.m., a Prince George’s County police helicopter crew that was surveying the area discovered the sounds were coming from an unannounced military training exercise in Davidsonville, said Bowie Police Chief John K. Nesky.
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