Source: Eduardo Frederiksen / Getty / Atlanta Bus Hijacking
A scene reminiscent of the film SPEED starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock went down in Atlanta, and it also had a plot twist not even Tyler Perry would think of for one of his films.
Spotted on TMZ, an Atlanta city bus was hijacked by a crook, holding the driver at gunpoint and taking passengers hostage, leading ATL police on a high-speed chase that left one person dead.
Thanks to aerial footage, viewers were locked in as law enforcement was in hot pursuit of the bus as it plowed through Atlanta traffic, smashing civilian vehicles, including cop cars, in a chase that went on for miles on Tuesday.
The suspect, Joseph Grier, a convicted felon with 19 prior arrests, commanded the bus driver, Ernst Antoine, who was only on the job for three months, to drive after shooting and killing a passenger.
Speaking exclusively with ABC’s Good Morning America, Antoine said he was “ready to die” for the bus passengers and felt his handling of the situation “was right because people always coming first.”
When police finally got the bus to stop, the hostages ran for safety, and the suspect was immediately taken into custody, but that part didn’t play out so smoothly.
Speaking with PEOPLE, a passenger revealed that Grier “threw his gun and tried to disguise himself as one of the victims.”
When Antoine got off the bus, police mistook him for the suspect he revealed before pointing the cops in the right direction.
“When I get out, the police point the gun on me. I said, ‘No, I’m not the killer. I’m the driver.’ And they asked me, ‘Who is the killer?’ I say, ‘Him,’” Antoine told GMA.
“We’re very shaken. It was really traumatic.”
Bus driver and passengers speak out after a deadly bus hijacking in Atlanta. @ReporterFaith has the details. pic.twitter.com/6KlHeFbmxD
— Good Morning America (@GMA) June 13, 2024
This Bus Hijacking Is The Most Atlanta Thing Ever
The hijacking only gets more interesting. Not too long after the incident, an interview featuring Grier talking to reporters following a shooting at the Peachtree Center, leaving four people shot, surfaced.
In the interview, Grier discussed what he witnessed at the shooting before later boarding the bus and getting into a fight with another passenger.
Another passenger on the bus with a gun attempted to stop the fight, leading to Grier stealing the gun and shooting and killing the person trying to break up the fight.
(@atlscoop)As for his reasoning for his behavior, Grier, 39, claims he has bipolar disorder and has been off his meds for weeks.
We shall see how this plays out.
