A loud noise that was heard across much of the Washington, D.C., area on Sunday afternoon, including in the suburbs of Virginia and Maryland, was caused by a sonic boom from an authorized Defense Department flight, the Annapolis Office of Emergency Management said. It was not immediately clear where the flight originated, what its purpose was or which branch of the military was operating it. A little after 3 p.m. on Sunday, people said on social media that they had heard a loud boom in Washington, D.C., and in Maryland and Northern Virginia. Many said the noise sounded like an explosion, and some said the boom was so strong that it shook their homes. There was another incident involving an aircraft in the vicinity of the Washington metropolitan area on Sunday, though it was not immediately clear that the two events were related.

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Organizations: D.C, Department, Annapolis Office, Emergency Management, Twitter, Washington , D.C, Pentagon Locations: Washington, Virginia, Maryland, Annapolis, Washington ,, Northern Virginia