1 fatal shooting in Atlanta-area transit bus that led officers on wild chase, police say

Atlanta police said the bus was eventually stopped miles away in neighboring DeKalb County and a 39-year-old suspect was handcuffed and taken into custody. While extricating the bus, officers found an adult victim with a gunshot wound. Authorities said the person was taken to a hospital where they died from their injuries.

There were several other passengers on the bus, but no other injuries were reported, police said. The identity of the man taken into custody was not immediately released.

John Gilbert, of suburban Dacula, said his wife, Paulette, took the bus to and from downtown Atlanta to work three days a week. He said she called him from the bus and told him a man had shot another man. Gilbert told his wife to hang up because he didn’t want the man to think she was calling the police and shooting him.

Then he waited 40 or 45 minutes without knowing what was happening before his wife finally called him once they got off the bus.

“I felt like I had a hole in me,” Gilbert said through tears. “I’m just glad she’s okay.”

Television footage showed the bus hitting several vehicles and crossing onto the wrong side of a road, pursued by police. At one point, a police vehicle appears to pull in front of the bus, but it continues to drive.