ATLANTA – The GBI has arrested a Georgia man for a shooting death on a county transit bus that ended in a pursuit with law enforcement.
Release:
The GBI is investigating an officer involved shooting in Atlanta, Georgia. The Georgia State Patrol asked the GBI to conduct an independent investigation on June 11, 2024. One man was shot and killed by a suspect later identified as Joseph Grier, age 39, of Stone Mountain, GA. No Troopers or officers were injured in this incident.
The preliminary information indicates on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, at about 4:20 p.m., a Gwinnett County Transit bus picked up passengers in downtown Atlanta. Among the passengers that boarded the bus was Grier. Grier was engaging with passengers on the bus and got into an argument with a male passenger. Grier got into a fight with the male passenger, and the passenger pulled out a gun. Grier took the gun from the passenger and began threatening passengers with it. Grier then shot the passenger and ordered the bus driver to flee the scene while threatening passengers with the gun. Numerous law enforcement agencies began pursuing the bus as it traveled north into Gwinnett County and then traveled east into DeKalb County. During the pursuit, the bus hit several police vehicles. The bus’s tires were flattened during the pursuit, but the bus continued to flee. A Georgia State Patrol Trooper then fired his patrol rifle into the engine compartment of the bus in order to cause the bus to malfunction and stop running.
The pursuit ended on Hugh Howell Road in Stone Mountain. At that time, Grier was taken into custody without further incident. The passenger shot by Grier was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead. The bus driver was also taken to a local hospital for treatment. The name of the victim that died is being withheld pending notification of next of kin by Atlanta PD and the Fulton County M.E.’s Office.
The GBI will conduct an independent investigation of the use of force. Once complete, the case file will be given to the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office for review
