THOMASVILLE — Thomasville Police Department is offering gift cards in exchange for firearms.

“No questions asked,” said Capt. Maurice Holmes, Thomasville Police Department Community Relations Division commander.

In an effort to combat recent violence, shootings and shootings deaths in the city, police are asking that people with ill-gotten weapons take them to the police station at 921 Smith Ave.

Participants should leave the guns in their vehicles and talk to the officer on duty. The officer will go to the vehicle and look at the firearm to be sure it is in working order and in a safety position.

The firearm will be placed with other property recovered by police.

National and Georgia crime information centers will be contacted to determine if a firearm has been reported stolen. If a weapon is stolen, when and where it was stolen will be learned. The owner will be contacted, and a follow-up investigation will take place, Holmes said.

There will be no repercussions for the person who turned in the stolen firearm.

Buy-back amounts are:

• $50 for handguns

• $100 for rifles or shotguns

• $150 for assault rifles

VISA gift cards will be given to those surrendering firearms.

Funding for the buy-back effort will come from TPD money allocated to pay for confidential information provided to police.

“We just want to get the guns off the streets,” Holmes said, adding that the buy back is a means to deal with gun violence.

He recalled an incident when a man was fatally wounded in a Wright Street shooting. On that day, guns had been fired into the air and at a house and business.

“We got no calls,” Holmes recalled. 

When the person was shot, 911 lit up with so many calls that police thought there had been multiple shootings.

If police had been notified police when the first shots were heard, police could have intervened and apprehended a suspect or put the shooter on the run and away from the area.

“We have to get the community involved,” Holmes said.

People who call about shots being fired may do so anonymously.

Those who turn in guns will not be asked for their names.

Holmes urges parents to search their children’s rooms to determine if they are in possession of firearms or contraband, such as drugs or alcohol.

On Tuesday, no one had turned in a gun since the buy-back effort began Friday.

“It’s going to continue until the money runs out,” Holmes said. 

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820