The man who hijacked a bus in Atlanta on Tuesday and shot and killed a passenger has 19 prior arrests and a history of mental illness, authorities said. FOX 5 Atlanta reported.
Joseph Greer, 39, was arrested after holding the bus driver at gunpoint and taking the remaining 17 passengers hostage. Led the police An intense chase through Atlanta, DeKalb County and Gwinnett County.
Vivian Powell, Grier’s father’s partner, told FOX 5 that Grier had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. She said Grier had struggled with mental illness for the 16 years they’d known each other and had been receiving treatment.
“God, Lord, have mercy on me, Joseph,” she told a local TV station about finding out what had happened. “I feel so sorry, I feel for the family, but it could have been so much worse. There were 17 people on the bus. What if they were all shot?”
Atlanta bus hijacking suspect questioned by reporters as a witness to food court shooting
In this image taken from video, Joseph Greer speaks to reporters about the shooting that happened at the food court in the Peachtree Center development in downtown Atlanta, Tuesday, June 11, 2024. (AP Photo)
She describes him as “kind,” “calm,” and “loving” when he was well rested and taking his medication, but recently that hasn’t been the case, she says, and he’s lost his job, stopped taking his medication, and isn’t getting much sleep.
“I have bipolar disorder, I’m telling you all about it. I’ve been off my medication for about two weeks,” a shaken Greer said Tuesday afternoon, adding that he felt like a “snitch” for speaking out about an unrelated shooting that took place in an Atlanta food court before the bus hijacking.
Shortly after being interviewed, Greer allegedly hijacked a commuter bus, ordered the driver at gunpoint to step on the gas, and panicked passengers. Authorities say Greer shot and killed one passenger and led police on a dramatic multi-jurisdictional police chase before the bus came to a halt about 40 minutes later.
Fani Willis takes ‘last resort’ to defeat Trump’s Georgia lawsuit disbarment appeal
A Gwinnett County, Georgia, commuter bus stops in the road after being stopped in Smoke Rise, Georgia, on Tuesday, June 11, 2024. Atlanta police say the bus fled from officers who were responding to an altercation inside the vehicle, leading to a lengthy and intense pursuit into a neighboring county before it was stopped. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)
Police said Greer was on a bus bound for a park-and-ride in suburban Gwinnett County, 26 miles away. Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum told reporters that investigators do not believe Greer had a gun when he boarded the bus.
At one point, Greer got into an argument with passenger Ernest Byrd Jr. When Byrd, 58, pulled out a gun, Greer grabbed it and shot Byrd, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Greer then threatened to shoot the driver if he pulled over.
“He said he was prepared to die, but he wanted the passengers on the bus to be safe,” the bus driver’s wife, Marie-Josee Antoine, told FOX 5.
Atlanta hijacker identified after leading police on wild chase inside crowded public bus
This undated photo provided by Brianna Byrd shows Ernest Byrd, who was shot and killed by Joseph Greer, who hijacked a commuter bus in Atlanta on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, and ordered the driver at gunpoint to step on the gas, causing passengers to panic. (Brianna Byrd via The Associated Press)
As for Greer’s criminal history, information FOX 5 obtained from the Georgia Department of Corrections revealed he was last released from prison 10 years ago after serving time for aggravated assault in 2011. Greer’s criminal history includes the use of handguns and knives.
Greer is charged with one count of murder, one count of motor vehicle hijacking, 13 counts of aggravated assault, 14 counts of kidnapping, one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and one count of possession of a firearm or knife during the commission of a crime.
One person killed in high-speed chase on Atlanta highway after crowded public bus hijacked
Joseph Greer, 39 years old. (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office)
Click here to get the FOX News app
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, best known for prosecuting former President Trump and rapper Young Thug, on Wednesday asked state officials to appoint a special prosecutor in Grier’s case.
Greer waived his initial court appearance Wednesday morning, FOX 5 reported, and online records did not list an attorney who could comment on the charges against him.
Fox News’ Bradford Betts and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
