Bus hijacking suspect was at scene of downtown Atlanta mass shooting moments before

WSBTV.com News Staff
·1 min read
6

The man accused of hijacking a Gwinnett County transit bus, killing someone onboard and leading officers on a high-speed chase was at the scene of a mass shooting in downtown Atlanta just moments before.

Joseph Grier, 39, has been arrested and faces more than two dozen charges related to the incident. Police say they were first called to reports of someone holding hostages on the bus around 4:30 p.m.

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Moments before that, Atlanta police were in downtown Atlanta investigating a mass shooting in a food court that left four people, including the suspect, injured.

It now appears that Grier was at the scene of that crime.

Channel 2 Action News cameras on the scene captured footage that appears to show Grier arguing with someone.

Channel 2′s Ashli Lincoln was on the scene when she spoke with Grier. She says he was loud and belligerent.

Lincoln talked to Grier as she was getting ready for her live shot and then watched him walk across the street, where he was agitated and yelling.

Police have not said that Grier had any involvement in the shooting. Jeremy Malone was arrested and charged in connection to the mass shooting.

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The chase started when Grier hijacked a bus from downtown Atlanta with 17 people on board, holding a gun to the driver’s head.

Grier was later arrested following the bus incident and charged with murder, 14 counts of kidnapping, 13 counts of aggravated assault, hijacking motor vehicle and more.

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