ATLANTA — A 39-year-old suspect is in custody and a passenger is dead after a chaotic chase involving authorities and a Gwinnett County transit bus on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Atlanta Police Department.
Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said that when police received the first 911 call, an officer responded to 45 Ivan Allen Junior Boulevard one minute later, and when the officer arrived, he saw the suspect inside the bus, but the suspect forced the driver to drive off at gunpoint. That's when officers were alerted and responded to follow the bus, which had 17 passengers on board when it was hijacked.
The suspect, identified on Wednesday as 39-year-old Joseph Grier, allegedly held the driver at gunpoint across multiple jurisdictions, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said in a Tuesday evening press conference. Dickens said the suspect has 19 prior arrests, including cycles where he was armed with a handgun. The Fulton County medical examiner has identified the man killed as 58-year-old Ernest Byrd Jr.
911 calls of a hijacked bus
Schierbaum said there were three 911 calls received. The first call let police know there had been a hijacking on the bus and that people were being held hostage on board at the stop in Atlanta, and that a weapon had gone off.
The second call let 911 operators came from a family member of a passenger on the bus to let operators know there were text messages coming from a passenger on board that there was an armed gunman on the bus.
The third call remained on the line for the entire time until the bus came to a stop in Stone Mountain. The third call helped police as they tracked the bus through multiple counties, Schierbaum said.
(Story continues below photo gallery)
Photos: Gwinnett transit bus chase on I-85
Chaotic chase
During the chase, the bus appeared to hit multiple cars, including a Gwinnett County patrol car, while Georgia State Patrol cruisers followed along. At one point, authorities appeared to be attempting a PIT maneuver on the bus to disable it from driving.
The bus was hit by spike strips at one point and then was fully disabled by a BearCat, an armored vehicle, to get the bus to stop, according to law enforcement.
11Alive SkyTracker flew over the scene as the bus led authorities on the chase. 11Alive tracked the bus from Interstate 85 to the intersection of Hugh Howell Road and Mountain Industrial Boulevard in Stone Mountain.
Video from 11Alive SkyTracker showed the bus eventually coming to a stop off Hugh Howell Road between Deer Ridge Drive and Rosser Road. Multiple passengers were seen getting off the bus with their hands in the air. A person was found with a gunshot wound at the scene, and first responders were seen performing what appeared to be CPR on the person just outside the stopped bus in a grassy area.
The person was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, where they died from their injuries, police said. Atlanta Police said the other passengers were being held hostage on the bus as the driver eluded authorities.
Who is the suspect?
Atlanta Police said the suspect is 39-year-old Joseph Grier. The man has been arrested 19 times, with a few of those instances relating to being armed with a weapon. APD Chief Darin Schierbaum said that mental health might play a factor but that this suspect should never have had a weapon, being a convicted felon.
The suspect allegedly held the driver at gunpoint throughout the ensuing chase that lasted multiple counties.
Chief Schierbaum said there was no connection between the Tuesday afternoon shooting at The Hub at Peachtree Center food court and the hijacked bus just a few blocks away.
This is a developing story. Check back often for new information.
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