Have you been hearing gunfire downtown and midtown recently? There’s a reason

For more than a week, it has sounded like parts of downtown and midtown Columbus were under attack.

There has been the constant “pop, pop, pop,” at night that sounds like gunfire. That’s because it is gunfire. And it’s coming from the Columbus Police Department as officers go through night training shooting at the city shooting range at 1152 1/2 Cusseta Road, said Lt. Tim Wynn, director of training.

“We do this annually at night,” Wynn said on Tuesday. “It is to train our officers to be able to handle situations that might happen at night.”

The gunfire, which starts after nightfall and ends just before 2 a.m., can be heard throughout downtown Columbus, the Historic District, and in midtown up to Wynnton Road.

Don’t worry, it will end real soon, Wynn said.

More than 400 officers are going through the training, which started Nov. 27 and is scheduled to end Tuesday night.

“Has anyone heard what sounded like gunshots? ... Sounded like 3 in a row, then 2, 3, 5,” one Historic District resident posted on the Neighborhood Watch page.

When there is little cloud cover, the sound of the shots travel, Wynn said.

“I know that some people are hearing it in different areas, especially the downtown area,” Wynn said.

The training is a necessity, Wynn said.

“At night, your eyes adjust differently,” he said. “This allows us to train under those conditions.”

This story was originally published December 5, 2017 at 3:10 PM with the headline "Have you been hearing gunfire downtown and midtown recently? There’s a reason."