Camera network helped to find Midtown mass shooting suspect, police say

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - The Cobb County Police credited a collaborative camera network in the Metro area with helping officers track down the accused gunman in Wednesday’s deadly shooting at a medical office in Midtown Atlanta.

“The combination of the people and the technology to me definitely saved lives. The first indication that we got that he was in Cobb County was from a Flock license plate recognition camera which was located in the Smyrna area,” said Cobb County Police Chief Stuart Vanhooze.

He said deputies spotted the suspect on a Georgia Department of Transportation camera from inside their real-time crime center.

“We were certain it was him and we actually saw him going into a building that was being built not inside The Battery, but just outside The Battery right across from Truist Park.”

Flock Safety camera network is located in every state and is helping to curb crime, Garrett Langley, the company’s founder and CEO said.

“The odds are that if you commit a crime in Atlanta you will get caught. We’re in the north of 70% of the cities in Georgia. So, let’s put it more bluntly. I would not choose to be a criminal in Atlanta at this time.”

Still, there are some who consider the growing camera network an invasion of privacy. Law enforcement agencies are aware and trying to find common ground.

“We welcome the conversation. We want to make people safe while also protecting people’s privacy that’s our goal,” said Vanhoozer.

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