VALDOSTA, Ga. (WALB) - One South Georgia community is cracking down on guns— hoping to prevent future injuries and deaths.

Last week, Valdosta Police (VPD) officers responded to several 911 calls about shots fired, resulting in one arrest and the seizure of an AK-style pistol. But this is just one of the many guns that were circulating the streets.

Four months into 2025, the VPD has seized over 30 guns off the street, several have illegal automatic switches and a handful are AK-style pistols.

Valdosta Chief of Police Leslie Manahan said, “Four of those guns have been reported stolen already.”

But over 40 other guns have been stolen out of vehicles this year and are not yet accounted for, possibly adding more dangerous weapons to the streets.

“Over 45 is ridiculous. It’s putting more guns on our streets and more guns in the hands of people that are not capable of taking care of the firearms. They’ve made arrests in the theft from vehicle cases, and sadly it’s mainly juveniles that are breaking into the vehicles,” Manahan said.

One parent said, “I have two young kids and it’s definitely scary trying to protect them because a bullet doesn’t have a name for nobody.”

She added her advice to other parents is to “Do a little research of what they have in their room. Maybe go through their phone because these kids are always positing these guns on social media so it’s really no way for a mother or anyone to say I didn’t know my child had this gun.”

Police say you should always remove guns from your vehicle, use a gun lock, and write down your serial numbers. In the event your gun is stolen, police can add the serial numbers to their database.

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