LEWISTON — After dozens of reports of gunfire in the downtown area Wednesday night, the official explanation from police a day later was that the sound was from police firearms training on River Road.

Dozens of people said they heard gunshots in the area of The Colisée about 6 p.m. Wednesday, although police said nobody called them to report it.

When the shots rang out, third and fourth grade soccer players were hustled off Drouin Field and some parents left the area out of fears for their safety.

Police were eventually notified and investigated the area around The Colisée. No evidence of gunfire was found.

It was suggested at the time that the sound may have come from police firearms training on River Road, which police announced days earlier.

Not everybody is convinced.

“I just don’t see how the sound could have carried that far and still sound as loud as it did,” said one woman, who was at Drouin Field with her niece when she heard the shots. She said the sound of gunfire seemed to get closer over time, too.

The Lewiston Recreation Department sent a note to concerned parents Thursday.

“This morning,” according to the note signed by Recreation Department Superintendent Nicole Welch, “I have confirmed with Lewiston Police Department that there was no shooting incident last night, and that the sound was echoing from the annual firearms training.”

Police said that whenever they conduct their yearly firearms training, they sometimes get erroneous reports of gunfire in other areas. Shifts in the wind or certain types of weather can make the sound carry strangely over the area.

The Colisée is roughly 3 1/2 miles on surface streets from the area where police were training.

While dozens of people from several area neighborhoods reported hearing the shots Wednesday night — two men reported there were at least two dozens shots fired — there were others who were near The Colisée at the time who heard nothing.

For some parents of school-age children, it doesn’t matter if the the Wednesday night sound of gunfire proves to have been erroneous. With so many of these incident being reported in the area around The Colisée lately, some wondered if those sports fields are still safe for youngsters to play on.

In late September, hockey practice at the rink was disrupted after gunshots were heard in the area. In that incident, police later confirmed shots had been fired in the area of Ash and Howe streets and that two parked vehicles had been struck.

Later the same night, more shots were fired on Pierce Street.

“Either way, it is a good example of how uncomfortable people feel in certain areas of town,” one woman said, “and highlights the concern people have of gun violence in the city, especially coming up on the one-year shooting anniversary.”