Cobb County officers share exclusive look at how they captured midtown shooting suspect

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — The mass shooting in Maine is on the minds of law enforcement across the country. On Thursday, Cobb County Deputy Chief Dan Ferrell spoke on the incident on behalf of Cobb County Police.

“On behalf of the Cobb County Police Department, I think I can speak for our entire community, they have our heartfelt condolences up there,” said Ferrell.

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They know the work that goes into finding a mass shooting suspect. It’s something they dealt with just months ago.

Officers used the real-time technology in a room inside its headquarters to respond to a mass shooting in Metro Atlanta earlier this year.

Police said 24-year-old Deion Patterson shot several people at a hospital in Midtown Atlanta.

“The men and women that work in here actually put in some information and started looking for the suspect’s vehicle. Then immediately, once they had that lookout, they started rewinding all of the cameras that we have throughout the county. Also, our license plate readers. Once they started finding the hits on the license plate readers and the video footage of the cameras, they were able to track down where he went,” said Ferrell.

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They used the technology at the command center and tips to narrow their search to an apartment complex right up the street from The Battery.

They closed in on the suspect and arrested him.

“When our officers confronted him, we had, what we thought, all avenues covered. They made loud, verbal announcements and he complied and he was taken into custody,” said Tactical Sgt. Robert Latham with Cobb County Police Department.

SWAT Team members are probably using similar training to find the suspect involved in the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine.

“I imagine every piece of technology you can possibly use. For instance, if you have a very large wooded area, you’re able to use a drone, or you’re able to use a helicopter or something of that nature,” said Latham.

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