Bus hijacking suspect witnessed Atlanta's Peachtree Center shooting and was interviewed by reporters

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – The suspect in Tuesday's deadly bus hijacking also witnessed the Peachtree Center mall shooting in downtown Atlanta the same day.

Joseph Grier, 39, is accused of killing a man on a Gwinnett County transit bus and leading police on a 45-minute chase while threatening the driver and other passengers. But about two hours before the incident, Grier spoke with Atlanta News First and other media outlets about what he saw at the mall.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Authorities identify suspect in Peachtree Center mall shooting that injured 4 people

Grier told reporters he ran to hide at a nearby Wells Fargo bank when the shots rang out in the mall's food court around 2:15 p.m. He also said he suffered from bipolar disorder and that he had not taken any medication for two weeks.

“I'm in a manic episode. That’s what you call it, when you’re almost on the verge of trouble,” he said. “Right now I'm in an extreme mood.”

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Everything we know about the deadly Gwinnett County bus hijacking

Grier said he could not possess a gun because of his prior prison sentence. He mentioned assessing the suspect, saying he could have grabbed the weapon from him if it was a pistol.

According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), Grier boarded the Gwinnett County bus around 4:20 p.m. and fought with another passenger. The other man pulled out a gun and Grier allegedly took the gun from him, threatening other passengers before fatally shooting the man.

Grier then asked the bus operator to drive, leading several law enforcement officers on a chase. The chase ended in DeKalb County when a Georgia State Patrol trooper shot the bus's engine, according to the GBI.

Grier faces more than 30 charges, including murder, aggravated assault, kidnapping and two firearms possession charges.

Atlanta News First spoke with Grier's father, who declined to comment on camera but confirmed his son suffers from bipolar disorder and is no longer taking medication.

Meanwhile, Jeremy Malone, 34, was arrested in connection with the Peachtree Center shooting. Police say he got into a fight with a 47-year-old man in the food court and shot him. He then allegedly walked toward the court and shot two sisters, aged 69 and 70, police said.

Malone was shot by an off-duty police officer and taken into custody. All four people shot during the incident are expected to survive.

Atlanta police said the two incidents were not related.

Editor's Note: Atlanta News First has decided not to air the interview our teams had with the alleged hijacker due to what he said about his mental health and the police investigation ongoing on the case.

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