ATLANTA– One person died after being shot Tuesday afternoon on a shuttle bus that led officers on a wild chase from Atlanta to a remote suburb, hitting several vehicles as it drove through rush-hour traffic with frightened passengers on board, authorities said.
TV news helicopters followed the dramatic pursuit of the Gwinnett County Transit bus, which police said left after officers responded to a report of gunfire on a bus and a possible hostage situation just after 4:30 p.m. near downtown Atlanta.
Helicopter footage shows the bus hitting several vehicles during the chase and crossing the wrong side of the road as police gave chase. At one point you saw how an officer was waiting on the highway and then threw a device under the bus in an attempt to stop it. The bus continued to drive, weaving between and around other vehicles.
Atlanta police said the bus was eventually stopped miles away in neighboring DeKalb County and 39-year-old Joseph Grier was taken into custody as police vehicles swarmed all around it. When officers cleared the bus of passengers, they found an adult victim with a gunshot wound. Authorities said the 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.
Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum told reporters that about a minute after the first 911 call came in, an officer arrived on the scene downtown. When the officer confronted the suspect, the man forced the bus driver to drive away, 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 getting text messages that a hijacking had occurred and people were being held hostage, Schierbaum said.
Then police received another 911 call from the bus, and that line remained open throughout the chase until the bus came to a stop, the chief said. Information from that call was relayed to officers from multiple agencies involved in the pursuit and allowed them to “put an end to this hostage situation,” he said.
Grier, whose last known address was in the suburb of Stone Mountain, had previously been arrested 19 times and convicted of misdemeanor assault, meaning he should not have had a gun, Schierbaum said.
It was not known Tuesday evening whether Grier had an attorney who could comment on his behalf. And there was no immediate announcement by authorities of possible charges in the case.
The first 911 call came just as Schierbaum and Mayor Andre Dickens finished informing reporters about a shooting at a downtown Atlanta food court in which they said a man shot three people before being shot by an off-duty police officer. The suspect and the three victims were all taken to hospitals but were expected to survive.
Schierbaum said investigators do not believe there is a connection between the food court shooting and the bus hijacking.
“Today was 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 is possible that mental health issues may have played a role, but added that “you’re talking about too many guns in the hands of individuals who shouldn’t have guns, too many guns in our streets, too many guns in our homes, too many guns in our schools and buses, etc.”
John Gilbert of the suburb of Dacula said his wife, Paulette, takes the bus to and from downtown Atlanta for work three days a week. He said she called him from the bus and said a man had shot another man. Gilbert told his wife to hang up the phone because he didn’t want the man to think she was calling the police and shoot her.
He then waited for 40 to 45 minutes without knowing what was happening before his wife finally called him as she got off the bus.
“I felt like I had a hole inside of me,” Gilbert said through tears. “I’m just glad she’s doing well.”
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Associated Press writer Sudhin Thanawala and photographer Ben Gray contributed reporting.