LEWISTON — Police were shutting down streets in the neighborhoods behind Central Maine Medical Center late Friday after gunfire was reported in the area.

All available police units swarmed on the area around Spring Street after shots were reported fired shortly before 11 p.m. Police fanned out along Holland, Whipple, Summer and Riverside streets, shutting down intersections to keep passers-by away.

Lewiston police were joined by officers from Auburn and the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department as they began to focus on a house in which they believed a suspect might be hiding.

Police officers due to go off duty at 11 p.m. were held over while the drama unfolded at the end of a busy evening in downtown Lewiston.

There were no immediate reports that anyone had been struck by gunfire. Several people in the area, as far away as Main Street, reported hearing a series of gunshots.

Shortly after 11 p.m., police put out an alert for the driver of a Volkswagen who may have been in the area when the shots were fired. They were also searching for a man in a hooded sweatshirt in the area.