Any backfire, or even some punk with a firecracker, is going to be reported as "shots fired", I'm afraid. Not that anyone can blame residents for being paranoid.
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean that someone isn't out to get you.
Just as last Fall where you had a "white powder" scare every few hours or so, you're going to see gunshot scares and a FR thread on it every few hours or so, now. Firecrackers, Backfires, etc.