A school bus was hijacked Thursday morning by a man carrying a knife, and he reportedly commanded the driver to take a detour at knifepoint, dragging the incident to last for a full 10-mile chase.
Authorities said the school bus contained 11 elementary school students, when it was hijacked in central Arkansas in the morning, CNN reported.
The suspect was then arrested after a 10-mile chase. He was identified by the police as 22-year-old Nicholas John Miller.
According to reports the incident took place in Jacksonville and it ended in Cabot.
Jacksonville Police Capt. Kenny Boyd said only the 11 young students and the driver were involved in the hijacking.
In a news release by the Jacksonville police, it was explained that Miller was first seen demanding a car from a woman in Jacksonville prior to the incident, and since the woman said she does not have one, Miller jumped into the bus that had stopped nearby where he was standing.
Additionally, the news release said that Miller, who was carrying a knife with him, began to act belligerently and used his knife to demand a takeover on the driver's seat.
The woman he left at the boss stop was the one who prompted the police, according to CNN.
Jacksonville police reportedly pursued the hijacked school bus right away until it finally went to a full stop in north of Cabot.
Kelsey Eggers, 17, an onlooker on the incident, had recorded a cellphone video of the chase. And according to CNN, it "shows a bus moving along a two-lane road pursued by 10 police cars with flashing lights."
"We were able to get the bus stopped. The suspect was taken into custody, and nobody was injured," Boyd said.
Meanwhile, back at the station, Miller claimed that he decided to take over the school bus because he was running for his life, adding that many people were after him and that it was never his intention to hurt the students and the driver, according to an arrest report.
Jacksonville police spokeswoman April Kiser said that Miller was charged Thursday "with a felony count of vehicle piracy, 12 felony counts of kidnapping, and two felony counts of aggravated assault."
On the other hand, Elsie Miller, the suspect's grandmother, said she does not understand why her grandson had hijacked a school bus, adding, "He has a good heart. I am totally surprised."
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