One person is dead after a gunman hijacked a bus and held the 17 people on board hostage in Atlanta on Tuesday, police said. The hijacking came shortly after another gunman wounded three people in a downtown Atlanta food court.
Police said that both suspected gunmen are felons. Joseph Grier, 39, is the suspect in the bus hijacking and has 19 previous convictions, CNN reported. The 34-year-old suspect in the food court shooting is another convicted felon who has 11 previous arrests.
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI), Grier got on a Gwinnett County transit bus while it was in downtown Atlanta, which is in Fulton County. Grier allegedly swiped a gun from a passenger before he then threatened other people on the bus.
“Grier then shot the passenger and ordered the bus driver to flee the scene while threatening passengers with the gun.,” the GBI said in a statement. “Numerous law enforcement agencies began pursuing the bus as it traveled north into Gwinnett County and then traveled east into DeKalb County.”
“During the pursuit, the bus hit several police vehicles. The bus’s tires were flattened during the pursuit, but the bus continued to flee. A Georgia State Patrol Trooper then fired his patrol rifle into the engine compartment of the bus in order to cause the bus to malfunction and stop running,” the statement added.
The passenger who was shot was transported to a hospital and later pronounced dead. The victim’s name is being withheld until authorities notify the family. Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said that the family member of one of the passengers called 911, telling police about the hostage situation.
At one point, police had shut down all lanes of I-85 as a massive chase continued, WSB-TV reported. Video shows the bus driving through traffic and ramming into vehicles as a trail of police cars follows it.
🚨 BREAKING: Suspect in custody after gunman hijacks bus near Atlanta and takes multiple people hostage. At least 1 dead pic.twitter.com/YqBNFI3sPr
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After police finally succeeded in getting the bus to stop, the suspect was taken into custody without incident, the GBI said. The bus driver was also taken to the hospital and treated for injuries.
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The suspected food court shooter reportedly got into an argument with someone inside the food court on Tuesday before allegedly pulling out a gun and shooting him along with two other people — a 69-year-old woman and a 70-year-old woman — who were nearby. WSB-TV reported that Grier was caught on camera at the scene of the food court shooting before he allegedly hijacked the bus. Police have not connected Grier to the shooting at the food court.
Atlanta Democratic Mayor Andre Dickens blamed “gun violence” for Tuesday’s crimes.
“Today has been a very active day, but let me be clear, we’re talking about gun violence that is a result of too many people having guns in their hands,” Dickens said. “You’re talking about people that should not have been on the streets with guns.”
“So, this day is not indicative of all the days in the city of Atlanta, but this is a day we’ll never forget,” the mayor added.
