Gainesville Police know there was a weekend gunfire exchange that didn't injure anyone outside an apartment complex and how a stolen gun was recovered, but they just don't know what the incident was all about.

At least seven men were taken into custody, interviewed by Gainesville Police and released following the 9:15 p.m. Saturday call to 911 that shots were being fired at Ridgecrest Apartments, said Lt. Carol Martin of the criminal investigations division.

None of the men were charged in the incident, she added.

One woman, Qwiana Bailey, was hospitalized for reasons unrelated to gunfire, according to an officer's incident report taken at the scene.

Bailey, a Ridgecrest resident, told police a group of men started yelling at her as she waited outside for a friend to pick her up. A black man in a red shirt "started shooting at her and her niece for no apparent reason," police reported Bailey as saying.

But another witness at the Roper Hill Road complex reported seeing two groups of men shooting at each other outside. Three men ran in one direction, the resident told officers, and another four retreated into Bailey's apartment.

"These four gentleman stated that they were visiting (Bailey), and the next thing they knew, shots were being fired directly at them, and so they ran back into the apartment," officer Carlo Miller wrote in his report.

A series of photographs taken as evidence showed a combination of "live rounds, expended rounds, a magazine and the area where the bullets struck objects," the report stated. Expended .40- and .45- caliber and 9 mm casings were taken into
evidence as well.

"The expended shell casings we found were new," Martin added. "There was nothing to show that they'd been laying on the ground for a while."

Bailey, who was first taken to the hospital with complaints of pain, returned to the scene before officers left at 3:15 a.m. Sunday. She allowed investigators to search her apartment.

They found a .40-caliber, semi-automatic Smith & Wesson pistol behind an air filter on her air conditioning unit located in a closet. Officers later discovered the weapon, which had "a round chambered," was reported stolen from DeKalb County.

"We don't know at this time if (that gun) was used or not," Martin said.

Special analysis by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is required to determine that information, she said.

Calls for police help at the complex have been routine in recent months, Martin said, with disagreements between residents as the most typical complaint. Saturday's 911 gunfire call was unusual, she said.

"We're thankful that no one was hit or hurt," Martin said.

There are 130 apartments at the complex, according to the Boston-based property management firm WinnResidential, which advertises Ridgecrest as one of its affordable housing locations.

Despite the number of possible witnesses, officers are struggling to find men and women willing to volunteer information about the crime.

Fear sometimes keeps people from stepping forward, Martin said, especially when neighbors are in close proximity to one another.

She encouraged residents who may know something about the gunfire exchange to call the Gainesville Police tip line. People can leave information on a recorded machine without identifying themselves.

"We will follow up with whatever (you) give us," Martin said.

The anonymous tip line is (770) 533-5873.