3:54 PM PT -- Police officers encountered several juveniles who were "doing dart wars" when they initially arrived at Joe Mixon's neighborhood on Monday night ... new police audio, obtained by TMZ Sports, reveals.
In the clip -- which picked up parts of the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office's response to the reports of gunfire in Mixon's neighborhood -- you can hear what appears to be an officer saying, "It's juveniles. They're doing dart wars. Slow everyone down."
Cops, according to the audio, were first called out to the Cincinnati-area location after someone on the scene had alleged "several males and females" were "running at this location.