Hamilton west side ‘big boom’ remains a mystery

Social media is flooded with theories about the origins of a large boom heard Sunday afternoon on the west side of the city.

Several people called Hamilton police, saying they heard a “big, large booming sound” that caused homes to shake.

“It was yesterday afternoon and still no cause has been found for it,” Hamilton Police Sgt. Brian Robinson said.

Hamilton Police had not received any reports of injuries or accidents, and none of the businesses in the area had reported any fires or explosions, according to Robinson.

Islara Leingang, director of finance for the Fitton Center for Creative Arts, lives on the west side and experienced the mysterious boom.

“I was about to walk in to the Meijer on Main Street when I heard it. I turned around to look at the parking lot, to see if a car had back fired or something. But I didn’t see anything,” she said.

“There were several people standing outside the store that kept looking around to see if something had happened. We all asked each other what it was…but no one knew. I called my husband, who was at home, to see if he heard it and if he was okay. … He said he did hear it and thought it was a transformer that blew up.”

While no official cause of the boom has been determined, police said it could have been the sonic boom of a plane flying overhead.

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