He spoke to reporters after a shooting in downtown Atlanta. Then, police say, he hijacked a bus – 104.5 WOKV

The food court shooting and bus hijacking – just hours and blocks apart – created a sense of chaos in Atlanta. In the aftermath, city leaders denounced the prevalence of guns on the streets, but were quick to reassure residents and tout statistics that show violent crime in Atlanta is declining.

Authorities said Grier took the gun from another man on the bus bound for a Gwinnett County park and ride 26 miles away, shot that passenger and threatened to shoot the driver s ‘he stopped. Despite Grier’s warnings not to use a phone, at least one passenger did so, calling 911 and leaving the line open, according to Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum.

That gave police a better understanding of the delicate situation on board, Schierbaum said, as the bus drove down a highway and down side streets, sometimes hitting vehicles in its path.

“You have an individual saying, ‘If you stop this bus, I’m going to kill the driver,’ which means the whole bus could overturn, go over a ditch or cross a bridge and everyone could die.” , Atlanta said. » said Mayor Andre Dickens. “But you also have a man who we know was shot. He therefore has limited time.

The chief said police will look at what they could have done to stop the bus more quickly, but added that no one can predict every scenario.

“Sometimes there’s no game plan and then you have to find a solution,” Schierbaum said. “And we saw it yesterday.”

Grier, 39, was taken off the bus in handcuffs and booked into Fulton County Jail on more than two dozen charges, including murder. He was being held without bail Wednesday and online records did not list an attorney who could comment on the charges.

Schierbaum said investigators found no connection between Grier and Jeremy Malone, 34, accused of shooting three people in the food court at the Peachtree Center complex.

In his interview with reporters outside the food court, Grier said he was in “extreme mode” when he saw the shooter. Grier spoke about the importance of protecting himself, pulling a box cutter from his pocket and repeatedly saying he couldn’t get a gun because of his criminal record.

Schierbaum and Dickens said they believe Grier’s actions were linked to mental illness — although studies show the vast majority of people with mental illness are not violent.

“Did he have a mental episode in that brief moment triggered by the police sirens, triggered by the activity that he hears, or was he already having that day a mental episode (and) he was just in this area ?” said Dickens. “All of this will play into our investigation.”

In his interview with reporters seeking witnesses to the food court shooting — including one from the Associated Press — Grier rambled for more than three minutes, saying he saw a man he believed to be the shooter confronts woman outside food court. Grier said that after the shooting, he fled.

“I’m protecting myself, I can’t have a gun, you know what I’m saying?” he said. “So my thing is to protect you like you’re in a chained gang.” I went to prison.

At a news conference Wednesday on the city’s “summer security plan” — planned before Tuesday’s shooting and hijacking — Schierbaum told reporters that investigators believe Grier did not have a weapon when he boarded the bus.

Schierbaum said 17 people were on the bus, including the driver. The man who was shot — Ernest Byrd Jr., 58, according to the Fulton County medical examiner’s office — was taken to a hospital and died. Schierbaum said investigators believe Grier took Byrd’s gun and shot him.

Byrd’s family said he was a building engineer who lived much of his life in New York and Marlton, New Jersey, before moving south. A lover of travel, his Masonic lodge and his family, Byrd was engaged, they said.

“He was a man known for his unwavering dedication to resolving conflicts and protecting others,” those close to him said in a statement.

Dickens said Tuesday’s two shootings were the “result of too many people having guns in their hands.” He noted that both suspects had extensive criminal records — Malone had 11 prior arrests, while Grier had 19 — and were ineligible to own firearms due to prior felony convictions.

Dickens said city officials want to have “a conversation about the appropriate way to sentence someone who has committed so many crimes, some with guns, others who have injured people or taken property.” So, let’s untangle this and look back at these individuals’ history with law enforcement.

Schierbaum also called for action against repeat offenders: “Either they need assistance through court-mandated drug and mental health programs or they need to be removed from the circulation of society.” And judges need to be part of that conversation.

Grier is charged with one count of murder, one count of hijacking a motor vehicle, 13 counts of aggravated assault, 14 counts of kidnapping, one count of possession of a firearm fire by a convicted felon and one count of possession of a firearm or knife during the commission of a felony.

Charges against Malone in the food court shooting include aggravated assault and reckless driving. He was being held without bail in Fulton County Jail, and an attorney who could comment on the charges was not listed in online court records. Schierbaum said Malone and the three food court victims are all expected to survive.