Gunman’s hijacking of Atlanta bus and wild chase with police ends in death

A gunman shot and killed a passenger aboard a Georgia commuter bus Tuesday and held a gun to the driver’s head during a terrifying chase with police, authorities said.

Law enforcement responded to a 911 call made around 4:30 p.m. about an armed suspect on a bus in Atlanta holding hostages and a possible discharge of a weapon, the Atlanta police chief said. Atlanta, Darin Schierbaum. About a minute later, a police officer confronted the assailant who “then forced the bus driver to leave,” Schierbaum said.

The chief said another 911 call came from a relative of one of the 17 people on the Gwinnett County Transit bus who received text messages saying a hijacking had taken place and hostages were held against their will. TV helicopters that followed the police chase captured the bus crashing into other vehicles and heading toward oncoming traffic before it was eventually disabled and parked by a BearCat in DeKalb County.

It was then that the passengers were able to escape this dramatic ordeal and the suspect, identified by police as Joseph Grier, 39, was taken into custody. Authorities said they found an adult victim in the vehicle with an apparent gunshot wound who later died from his injuries, according to the Associated Press.

Schierbaum said authorities would not publicly identify the victim until the family was notified. He described Grier, whose last known address was in Stone Mountain, as a convicted felon who had been arrested 19 times previously.

The chief also said the driver was a “hero” forced to deal with a “very dangerous situation.” “He had a very painful experience,” Schierbaum said.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens praised law enforcement’s response as multiple agencies and 911 call operators “tried to figure out what was an armed man with a gun pointed at a man’s head.” bus driver, saying, “Don’t stop this bus, otherwise worse will happen.” .’ “It’s like the movies,” Dickens said at a news conference Tuesday.