Mystery earth-shaking booms rattle central N.J. residents

Mysterious, earth-shaking booms have been reported in recent weeks by dozens of Bordentown and Hamilton residents, and authorities are at a loss to explain them. The most likely culprit, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst,

says it wasn’t them. While the military base routinely hosts artillery training on weekends and warns residents in advance, the mystery booms have come at odd hours and on weekdays when the range is inactive. The latest boom jolted residents at 10 p.m. Monday. A closed Facebook group for Bordentown Township residents lit up with people asking each other, “Did anyone just feel that loud rumble? Was in the garage and the garage doors both rattled hard and I could feel the rumble under my feet,” was one of a dozen replies. A similar online conversation unfolded on March 19 after the noise was heard around 9 p.m. Another series of reports occurred on March 17, a Tuesday. Some have reported hearing several booms in succession during the span of an hour. Residents in adjacent Hamilton Township in Mercer County also reported hearing the noise. Bordentown City police they had heard about online chatter about the explosions, but no one there had fielded any calls about them. Bordentown Township police Capt. Norman Hand was unaware of the sounds Tuesday, and nobody in the police department was talking about it, he said. FULL REPORT