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

ATLANTA (AP) — One person died after being shot Tuesday afternoon on a commuter bus that led police on a wild chase for miles from Atlanta to a distant suburb, hitting several vehicles as they that he was rushing into rush-hour traffic with frightened passengers on board, authorities said. .

Television news helicopters followed the dramatic pursuit of the Gwinnett County Transit bus, which police say took off after officers responded to a report of shots fired on a bus and a possible shooting hostages just after 4:30 p.m. near downtown Atlanta.

Footage from the helicopter showed the bus hitting several vehicles during the chase and crossing onto the wrong side of a road with police in pursuit. At one point, a police officer could be seen waiting on a highway, then throwing a device under the bus in an attempt to stop it. The bus continued on its way, weaving in and around other vehicles.

Atlanta police said the bus was eventually stopped miles (kilometers) away in neighboring DeKalb County and Joseph Grier, 39, was arrested as police vehicles swarmed all around. As officers emptied the bus of passengers, they found an adult victim with a gunshot wound. Authorities said that person, whose name was not immediately released, was taken to a hospital and died from his injuries.

There were 17 people on the bus, including the driver, but no other injuries were reported on the bus, police said. News photos showed an armored police SWAT vehicle squarely blocking the front of the bus, which was also flanked by a fire truck. Afterward, a bright digital sign above the bus windshield still read: “EMERGENCY” and “CALL POLICE 911.”

Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum told reporters that an officer arrived at the scene in downtown about a minute after the first 911 call. When the officer confronted the suspect, the man forced the bus driver to leave, he said.

Officers were following the bus when another 911 call came in from a family member of a bus passenger who said he was receiving text messages saying there had been a hijacking and people were taken hostage, Schierbaum said.

Then police received another 911 call from the bus, and that line remained open throughout the chase until the bus stopped, the chief said. Information from that call was relayed to agents from several agencies involved in the chase and allowed them to “put an end to this hostage situation,” he said.

Grier, whose last known address was in suburban Stone Mountain, had been arrested 19 times previously and had felony convictions, meaning he should not have had a gun, Schierbaum said.

It was unclear Tuesday evening whether Grier had an attorney who could comment on his behalf. And authorities did not immediately announce possible charges in the case.

The initial 911 call came just as Schierbaum and Mayor Andre Dickens had finished briefing reporters about a shooting at a downtown Atlanta food court in which they said a man had shot three people before being shot by an off-duty police officer. The suspect and three victims were all taken to hospital but are expected to survive.

Schierbaum said investigators do not believe there is a connection between the food court shooting and the bus hijacking.

“Today has been a very active day, but let me be clear, we are talking about gun violence that results from too many people having guns in their hands,” Dickens said. He added that it’s possible that mental health issues played a role, but he added that “you’re talking about too many guns in the hands of people who shouldn’t have them, too many guns in our streets, too many weapons in our homes. homes, too many guns in our schools and buses, etc.

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.”

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Associated Press writer Sudhin Thanawala and photographer Ben Gray contributed to this report.

Kate Brumback, Associated Press