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Man who hijacked Gwinnett transit bus, led officers on chase identified, charged with murder, kidnapping

Bus chase with 17 hostages ends fatally, unrelated to Peachtree Center shooting.

ATLANTA — A man who forcibly hijacked a Gwinnett County transit bus on Tuesday, leading officers on a wild chase where a passenger was found dead, was identified and charged according to jail records. 

Fulton County Jail records show that 39-year-old Joseph Grier was charged with the following: 

  • Murder
  • Kidnapping (14 counts)
  • Hijacking a motor vehicle (1st Degree)
  • Aggravated assault (14 counts)
  • Possession of a firearm or knife during the commission of or attempt to commit certain felonies
  • Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
Credit: 11Alive

Grier was at another crime scene hours earlier, where three people were shot at the Peachtree Center mall. In the video interview with 11Alive, Grier is seen wearing a light grey shirt and holding a watch. He told 11Alive reporter Molly Oak that he was in the Wells Fargo and hid during the shooting.

11Alive has also learned, per jail records, that Grier served time between October 2011 and November 2014.

In April 2011, he was convicted of multiple counts of aggravated assault on possession of a knife during a crime in Fulton County. A couple of years earlier, in 2008, he was convicted of aggravated assault in Cobb County, and in 2005 was convicted of child molestation in DeKalb County.

More on the incident 

Officers with the Atlanta Police Department were called to 45 Ivan Allen Junior Boulevard NE in Atlanta, where a report stated that someone had hijacked the bus. 

According to new information from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Grier was a passenger on board the bus who got into an argument with another male passenger. As the fight escalated, that other passenger pulled out a gun, which Grier took and began threatening passengers with it.

"Grier then shot the passenger and ordered the bus driver to flee the scene while threatening passengers with the gun," the release goes on to state.

Authorities said Grier led a pursuit across multiple jurisdictions with 17 passengers on board. The chase ended in Stone Mountain, where the bus was disabled.

The one passenger who was found shot during the ordeal and later died at the hospital. The Fulton County medical examiner has identified the victim as 58-year-old Ernest Byrd Jr. The Atlanta Police Department, with assistance from the Georgia State Patrol, managed the crisis, which resulted in multiple vehicles being struck, including a patrol car. This incident is separate from the same day's shooting at The Hub at Peachtree Center.

Grier was expected in court on Wednesday but waived his first appearance. Documents show that bond has been denied on all charges. 

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