BOSTON (WHDH) - Federal officials are apologizing this week after federal agents mistakenly detained the wrong person during a training exercise in a Boston hotel Tuesday.
In a statement, the FBI said the incident happened around 10 p.m. while the FBI’s Boston Division was aiding the Department of Defense in an exercise “to simulate a situation their personnel might encounter in a deployed environment.”
“Based on inaccurate information, they were mistakenly sent to the wrong room and detained an individual, not the intended role player,” the FBI said.
7NEWS spoke by phone with the Director of Communications for the U.S. Army Special Operations Command from Fort Bragg after the incident.
“We would like to extend our deepest apology to the individual who was affected by the training exercise,” Lt. Col. Mike Burns said.
A Boston police report said the incident happened at the Revere Hotel. 7NEWS sources said the person who was mistakenly detained is a pilot for Delta Air Lines.
The police report said officers responded to the hotel, where they were met by law enforcement conducting the training.
Burns said the training is considered “routine military training,” adding “this is not the first time that we’ve done training of this nature.”
Revere Hotel personnel have declined to comment about whether or not they were notified ahead of time about the training exercise.
Elsewhere, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu shared her thoughts.
“I’m sure that was a terrifying and horrific experience for the person who was just here to enjoy and spend some time in the city,” Wu said.
Nobody was injured in the incident, according to the FBI.
The agency continued in its statement, saying “Safety is always a priority of the FBI, and our law enforcement partners, and we take these incidents very seriously.”
The FBI on Wednesday said it is reviewing the incident with the Department of Defense “for further action as deemed appropriate.”
Delta also shared a statement, saying “The wellbeing of our people is a responsibility we take seriously.”
“Delta leaders are in regular contact with our pilot and we remain committed to providing support as needed,” Delta said.
The incident remained under investigation as of Thursday.
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