THETFORD — Police arrested a 68-year-old Fairlee man in connection with the alleged firing of a gun out in the open in the village of East Thetford, 16 days after enlisting the public’s help in tracking down a suspect.

Steven Duffy was charged with aggravated assault and reckless endangerment in Orange County Superior Court on Friday and released on conditions, Thetford police said in a news release on Friday afternoon.

Police earlier reported they had responded to the area near the intersection of routes 5 and 113 in East Thetford on Feb. 7 after people said they heard the sound of gunfire. By the time police arrived at the scene, however, the vehicles involved in the incident had sped away.

No one was injured by the gunfire, which occurred in the middle of the afternoon near a cluster of small businesses, including the Little Feet Children’s Center.

Thetford police said that working with information provided by witnesses and video they were able to locate “a vehicle resembling the suspect vehicle at a residence within a few miles of the incident location,” which “further investigation” indicated “was likely the one involved in the incident,” the news release said.

Police said after executing a search warrant at Duffy’s residence on Friday they found “evidence” — they did not specify if it was a firearm — tying him to the incident.

Contact information for Duffy could not be immediately obtained on Friday.