A Georgia woman has filed a scathing lawsuit after her father was killed by an alleged bus hijacker.
Jazzmyn Byrd is the daughter of Ernest Byrd Jr., who was shot and killed in an ordeal that began in downtown Atlanta.
Atlanta Black Star obtained the lawsuit Byrd filed in Gwinnett County.
Byrd listed the defendants as Gwinnett County, the city of Atlanta, Joseph Grier, the bus driver, and a transit company.
There are 10 additional John Does named as defendants. According to the lawsuit, they are all passengers who did not help Byrd.
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Byrd’s father was killed in 2024. The filing included the original incident report from the shooting.
The alleged shooter, Grier, is accused of hijacking a Gwinnett County Transit bus in downtown Atlanta on June 11, 2024. Police say that before the takeover began, Grier and Byrd got into an argument, which escalated to Byrd drawing a gun. Grier then took the gun from Byrd, threatened the passengers, and shot Byrd before ordering the bus driver to drive, according to authorities.
The high-speed chase ended in the Atlanta suburb of Stone Mountain when police disabled the bus. It lasted 45 minutes.
Transdev Services, Inc. was named in the lawsuit. Byrd accused the service of failing to provide adequate training for such situations.
According to the filing, the driver could communicate with dispatch personnel and local law enforcement. No calls were made by the driver, the suit claims.
The bus driver also allegedly had the training to protect passengers, including the ability to stop at a safe location to seek law enforcement intervention.
“As a direct and proximate result of the acts and omissions of the John Doe Bus Driver, Ernest Byrd, Jr. suffered severe bodily injury… and ultimately death,” the court filing said.
The lawsuit added that Grier exhibited concerning behavior before he got on the bus. He was also believed to be connected to or involved in a shooting near the Peachtree Center hours before, the filing said.
Grier is in custody, charged with murder, 14 counts of kidnapping, hijacking a motor vehicle, and more. He does not have a bond.
Many news outlets realized they interviewed Grier about the shooting at the Peachtree Center, including WXIA and WSB-TV. WXIA acknowledged that the station decided not to air the interview for the original story it was intended for.
“When 11Alive talked with Joseph Grier Tuesday as a witness at the scene of a separate shooting in Downtown Atlanta, an editorial decision was made not to use his interview at that time,” the station wrote online. “On Wednesday morning, 11Alive confirmed Grier was the suspect in the bus hijacking.”
WXIA also noted Grier shared information that gave insight into his mental state before the alleged incident.
As he rambled through his interview with reporters, Grier said he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He told WXIA he had been off his medication for two weeks, adding that he was experiencing a manic episode.
“Right now I’m in extreme mode,” Grier told reporters at that moment.
Gwinnett County and the city of Atlanta both said they cannot comment on pending litigation.
