COBB COUNTY, Ga. — After the city was on lockdown and multiple metro area law enforcement agencies swarmed the city to search for Atlanta Midtown hospital shooter Deion Patterson, police told Channel 2′s Audrey Washington that technology played a huge role in tracking down the suspect, and ending the manhunt.
Using a network of cameras and surveillance technology, they tracked Patterson down to a location in Cobb County, where he eventually surrendered and was taken into custody by police.
Cell phone video captured the moment the two-county manhunt for Patterson came to an end.
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Earlier Wednesday, Patterson went to Northside Hospital on West Peachtree Street and, after a disagreement over a prescription, opened fire.
He shot five women, and tragically, one of the shooting victims died. Patterson ran away on foot before reaching a gas station and stealing a pickup truck, leading law enforcement officers from multiple agencies on a manhunt. He was later found in Smyrna, where he was apprehended.
Cobb County Police Department (CCPD) says the search through Midtown Atlanta and parts of Cobb County left the areas on edge during lockdowns, and that Flock Safety cameras in the area were a help to track Patterson’s movements.
“It’s the wave of the future,” Cobb County Police Chief Stuart VanHoozer said.
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Flock cameras are a relatively new form of technology that can scan vehicles, read their license plates, and alert police. The camera system was designed by Garrett Langley, a Georgia Tech Graduate.
“A vehicle fingerprint that allows the law enforcement agency to understand with very little evidence who they’re looking for, what they’re looking for,” Langley, the CEO and founder of Flock Safety said.
Thursday, Cobb County police let Channel 2 Action News inside their Real Time Crime Center to see how everything works.
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The Real Time Crime Center is where CCPD monitors calls from citizens and alerts from both Flock and Dept. of Transportation cameras.
“Seeing him on the, the suspect, on the DOT cameras, we were certain it was him,” VanHoozer said. “It’s a tool and it’s great for our community safety.”
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