A MAN accused of hijacking a bus at gunpoint and fatally shooting one of the passengers appeared in an interview with local news just hours before.
Joseph Grier, 39, appeared agitated as he went on a disjointed rant about his banking issues while explaining his mental health and criminal history on Tuesday.
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“I’m bipolar, I’m gonna tell you all that, and I’m off my medication for like two weeks,” Grier told NBC affiliate WXIA-TV.
Reporters spoke to Grier to give his account of a separate shooting he witnessed in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, however, an editorial decision was made at the time to not use his interview.
“I’m in a manic episode that’s what it’s called,” Grier said in the clip.
“Where you’re almost about to get in trouble because you’re doing so extreme and erratic [stuff].”
Grier added that he was in an “extreme mode” when he reportedly saw the suspect in the separate shooting, adding that he had knives on his person.
“He about to get stabbed,” said Grier. “I protect myself, I ain’t got a gun.”
However, just a short while later, police said Grier boarded a commuter bus and got into a fight with one of the passengers, 58-year-old Ernest Byrd Jr.
Byrd pulled out a gun but was fatally shot with his weapon after Grier was able to grab it, said the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Grier then held the remaining passengers at gunpoint and instructed the bus driver to continue speeding.
For 40 minutes, Grier led police on a high-speed chase through three counties as he warned passengers not to use their phones.
However, at least one person was able to call 911 and left the line open, said Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum.
He added that this allowed police to figure out the delicate situation happening onboard as the bus sped down an interstate and through side streets.
Some cars were hit during the chaotic trip despite police flattening the tires, said the GIB.
The bus didn’t stop until a state trooper fired his rifle into the engine.
“You have an individual saying, ‘If you stop this bus, I’m going to kill the driver,’ which then means that the whole bus could overturn, could run over a ditch or run over a bridge and everyone could die,” said Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens.
“But you also have a man that we know was shot. So he has a limited amount of time.”
Police said they would look internally to see what could have been done to stop the bus more quickly but added that it’s impossible to foresee every scenario.
Sometimes there’s not a game plan, and you have to craft a way right then,” said Schierbaum. “And we saw that yesterday.”
Grier was cuffed and taken off the bus before being booked into the Fulton County Jail on several charges, including murder.
I protect myself, I ain’t got a gun.
Joseph Grier
He is currently being held without bail and doesn’t appear to have an attorney at the moment, according to online records.
Schierbaum and Dickens believe Grier’s actions may have been linked to his mental illness.
“Was he having a mental episode for that brief moment triggered by police sirens, triggered by activity that he’s hearing, or was he already that day having a mental episode (and) he was just in that area?” Dickens said.
“All of that will play into our investigation.”
There were 17 people on the bus, including the driver, at the time of the incident, said Schierbaum.
Byrd was taken to a hospital, where he later died.
He was a building manager who loved most of his life in New York City and Marlton, New Jersey, said Byrd’s family.
He had moved to Georgia about 10 years ago and was engaged to be remarried.
“He was a man known for his unwavering dedication to resolving conflicts and protecting others,” his family said in a statement.
Byrd’s family said he left behind four children.
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