Helicopters Practicing In Houston Look And Sound Like The Real Thing

It appeared as if the military were conducting a raid over a residential neighborhood in southeast Houston Monday afternoon. There were helicopters in the air and the sound of gunfire could be heard. And while the helicopters were real, the guns were shooting blanks.

The exercise was conducted by the Army and other agencies over an old high school in the neighborhood. Television station KTRK-TV reports that it received numerous phone calls, e-mails, Facebook posts, and Tweets about the exercise. Many were reportedly concerned that there was an actual incident going on at the school.

The exercise turned out to be a training mission, but some who live nearby said that the agencies involved could have done more to warn the neighborhood that it would be conducted. While the Army did not offer any explanation about what they were training for, some assumed it was to handle an incident at a school like the one that happened recently in Newtown, CT.

A similar drill was reportedly conducted Sunday in Miami.

FMI: www.army.mil