In a scene reminiscent of a Hollywood thriller, more than 50 police cars chased a hijacked bus through the streets of Atlanta. The hijacker, armed and holding the bus driver at gunpoint, led law enforcement on a high-speed pursuit across highways and through city streets, leaving onlookers and passengers terrified.
The incident began in downtown Atlanta when the hijacker, identified as 39-year-old Joseph Greer, commandeered the bus and forced the driver to navigate through the city before heading onto Highway I-85. With 14 passengers aboard, including a tense standoff where the hijacker threatened violence if the bus stopped, the situation escalated rapidly.
The pursuit, echoing the plot of the 1994 blockbuster “Speed,” involved desperate attempts by Atlanta and surrounding county law enforcement to halt the bus. Despite efforts to deploy nail strips to deflate the tires, the bus continued its reckless course, colliding with vehicles and evading a police roadblock.
Police revealed that Greer had been involved in a prior mass shooting incident at an Atlanta food court shortly before hijacking the bus. In a disturbing twist, he had even given a televised interview where he hinted at impending trouble due to his bipolar condition. During the bus ordeal, Greer reportedly disarmed a passenger, injuring them, and then used the weapon to coerce the driver into continuing the dangerous journey.
The harrowing ordeal came to a dramatic conclusion when a SWAT team utilized a BearCat armored vehicle to ram the bus, finally bringing it to a stop. Greer was swiftly taken into custody. Authorities emphasized that there was no connection between Greer’s earlier actions at the food court and the bus hijacking.
Greer, with a history of 19 felony arrests, faces charges including murder and multiple other offenses related to the hijacking and endangerment of passengers and law enforcement.
