Soldiers training near a National Guard training center in Mississippi reported hearing gunshots for two consecutive days earlier this week, prompting a heightened state of alert at the installation, according to military officials.

Taken into custody after the incidents near Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center was Alfred Baria Sr., a 61-year-old man who was stopped in a pickup truck on Wednesday, the Clarion-Ledger reported. It was not immediately clear, however, if any shots were actually fired.

Perry County Sheriff Jimmy Dale Smith told the Associated Press that Baria alleged the noise was simply his truck backfiring. That account was supported by Baria’s son, who told the AP it was a common occurrence.

Baria’s son said he understood concerns about military safety, but said he felt officials were overreacting following repeated public statements about gunfire and a large police search.
“I feel like they were just embarrassed,” Alfred Baria Jr. told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday evening at the home he shares with his father in remote southern Perry County.

The sheriff’s office did not immediately return a telephone message left Thursday.

No soldiers were injured in either situation, Lt. Col. Christian Patterson, spokesman for the Mississippi Military Department, said Wednesday.

On Wednesday morning, as authorities were still searching for the person they believe fired shots near soldiers a day earlier, soldiers again reported hearing gunshots in a wooded area of Perry County, Miss.

The report came less than three weeks after a man opened fire at a Naval Reserve center and a recruiting station in Chattanooga, Tenn., killing four Marines and a Navy petty officer. That shooting sparked concerns over how military service members could be targeted for attacks and prompted an outcry over restrictions on how they can arm themselves at military facilities.

Last week, Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter said he would allow more troops to be armed while stateside, and he called for other improvements in security at places like recruiting stations.

Regardless of what authorities determine, Baria is still facing charges, including counts of disturbing the peace, jail records show. Additionally, he was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. (The AP reports that guns were located at his home.)

About 4,600 soldiers are currently participating in training exercises at the Mississippi installation, military officials said.

Camp Shelby is located outside Hattiesburg, Miss., and is a little more than 100 miles north of New Orleans. The installation, which stretches over 134,000 acres, remains secure and all installation personnel are accounted for, Patterson said.

[This story was originally posted on Wednesday, and has since been updated.]

Related:

This post originally said the shootings were reported Monday and Tuesday, I’ve updated it to (correctly) note they were reported Tuesday and Wednesday.