Navy SEALs parachute onto the Common this afternoon

By Melissa Werthmann, Globe Correspondent

It rained SEALs in the Boston Common this afternoon.

A group of the elite Navy service members jumped out of an airplane over the city today, performing stunts on their way down to the Beacon and Charles streets area of the Common to celebrate Navy Week.

The SEALs’ Leap Frogs parachute team dropped from 12,500 feet at 2 p.m. followed by some time for pictures, autographs, and questions.

Keith Pritchett, a Navy SEAL for 23 years, served as the officer in charge. He said the jump went “just perfectly,” and estimated the crowd at about 800. The SEALs then interacted with spectators and chose several kids to help them fold their parachutes, he said.

The team is performing at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Puopolo Park in the North End, at 2 p.m. Tuesday on the Common again, and at noon Wednesday at Fan Pier. They will also jump in Fenway Park at 6:45 p.m. Friday for the Red Sox-Yankee game.