Mystery 'booms' heard in Gardner - find out what police say is the cause

"What was that loud boom?"

It's a question that is posed quite often by Greater Gardner residents on social media pages. Intermittently — and usually between 8 and 11 p.m. — something big and loud is fired off from somewhere, but nobody seems quite sure what or where that something is.

Tuesday, a loud boom was reported going off at about 9:50 p.m. Residents immediately went online to describe what they'd heard. "It shook the whole house," reported Jody Scouten Loescher. "Lights flickered and dogs were barking," said Erin Ryan. "This one shook my house and rattled my windows," wrote Melissa LiPetri.

Was it an earthquake? A transformer explosion? A sonic boom from a passing jet?

Not according to officials at the Gardner Police Department, who say the culprit was probably an unknown person firing off a homemade cannon, most likely near the Gardner-Templeton line.

Where are the booms coming from?

Determining exactly where the device is being set off is difficult, according to Chief Eric McAvene, because there is no pattern to when the booms were occurring.

More: Shrapnel flew after cannon explosion

"It's hard to pinpoint when only one or two shots go off," he said. "The noise carries a long distance, which contributes to being unable to determine an accurate location."

Anyone with information about the location of the cannon was urged to notify police, according to McAvene.

"The most recent (explosion) seems to be somewhere in the Otter River area," he said. "It could be Gardner, Templeton or Winchendon, given the location. The sound would easily carry that far."

The device was likely designed to shoot off blanks as opposed to launching cannonballs, officials said.

"The cannons do not fire a projectile and are made for ceremonial firing," McAvene said.

The individual shooting off the cannon could face a charge of disturbing the peace, he added.

Misfiring cannon damaged Gardner homes in 2012

This is not the first time law enforcement in Gardner has had to deal with a resident shooting off a handmade cannon. In 2012, a Cleveland Street resident's Fourth of July tradition went awry when the barrel of his cannon exploded, sending bits of shrapnel into nearby homes.

More: Mystery hole in Gardner house leads to cannon law inquiry

"Too much black powder or a deficiency such as damage or metal fatigue in the cannon structure could cause an explosion," McAvene said.

Nobody was hurt in the 2012 explosion, according to police.

This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Mystery 'booms' heard in Gardner - find out what police say is the cause