India, Aug. 19 -- Police in Columbia, Missouri are responding to reports of shots fired near the 900 block of Providence Road, the University of Missouri said in an alert issued to its community on Monday evening.

Later, CPD said in an update on Facebook that they were responding to an incident of vehicle backfiring.

"At approximately 8:23pm Boone County Joint Communications (BCJC) received multiple 911 calls in reference to a report of shots being fired," the update read.

"Officers searched the area for any physical evidence of shots being fired and did not locate anything. Additionally, they spoke with several 911 callers and people in the area and confirmed that no one saw shots being fired, only heard a loud noise when a vehicle dr...