Video from a robot dog helped detectives identify and arrest two murder suspects in a Georgia drive-by shooting which killed a 13-year-old boy and a 45-year-old man, police told Newsweek. A dog also died in the gunfire. Keyshun Webb, 21, and a 16-year-old boy were arrested following the July 2 attack on a home in the 2400 block of Rockcliff Road, said the DeKalb County Police Department.
They face charges including murder and cruelty to an animal. Newsweek believes this is the first time a robot dog has helped to make an arrest in a murder investigation. Undaunted, the Atlanta-based startup behind the quadruped devices, says it has already deployed more than 100 security robots and is preparing to expand its services.
"Undaunted Robotic Security aided in the investigation by providing video of one suspect," Sgt. Elise Wells, a public information officer for the DeKalb County Police Department told Newsweek in a statement. "The video was one piece of evidence detectives used to identify and arrest the suspects." Interest in the machines surged last week after a clip of a four-legged robot patrolling an Atlanta apartment complex was viewed more than 2 million times on X.
Behind the devices, known within the company as "Oppys," is a security operation combining remotely controlled robots, fixed property cameras and human monitoring. Many of the operators work from a "Mission Control Center" in the Philippines. The police statement offers a rare documented example of evidence gathered through a privately operated robot-security system contributing to a serious criminal investigation.
It also highlights the broader implications of moving security work from on-site guards to remote workers who can patrol residential communities, address residents through two-way audio and relay video to law enforcement. Police were called to the scene just south of I-20 in Gresham Park, an unincorporated community southeast of Atlanta, at about 3:55 a.m. following reports of a drive-by shooting on July 2. Demarcus Shirley, 13, and Chauncey Newman, 45, were found dead from gunshot wounds, as well as the dog.
One suspect, a teenager, faces two counts of murder, seven counts of aggravated assault and two alleged violations of the Georgia Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act, said police. Webb, faces two murder counts, eight counts of aggravated assault with a weapon, aggravated cruelty to an animal and two alleged violations of the state’s gang law. Several people were inside when shots were fired into the building, but the others were unharmed, police told Atlanta News First.
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