LEWISTON — Gunshots were reported downtown Friday night following a fight on Birch Street. Police investigating the incident later discovered that a man had been shot in the shoulder.

Police swarmed at Birch and Blake streets at about 8:30 p.m. after witnesses reported several shots had been fired. 

Investigators recovered a handgun at the scene, but the victim had run off before officers arrived, police said. 

Police later spoke with the shooting victim, who was being treated for his wound. They also interviewed the suspected shooter, who reported that he fired shots in self-defense.

The shooting appeared to have stemmed from an earlier dispute between the two men, police said. Reports Friday night that the men had argued over the elction of Donald Trump proved to be erroneous – that argument was reported around the same time, but was not related to the shooting.

Police were continuing to investigate the shooting on Saturday.

As police were sorting out the Birch Street incident Friday night, some officers were called away for an unrelated fight involving a knife on Nichols Street. That turned out to be a misunderstanding, police said, and no fight had occurred.

Friday’s incident came on the heels of two reports of gunfire the day before. On Thursday, shots were reported at about 3:30 a.m. on Walnut Street and again at about 11 a.m. on Pierce Street.

Police were still still searching for suspects in those incidents.