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Subscribe to RSSThe Alabama man who is suspected of taking a young boy hostage had only lived in the area a few years and kept to himself, according to neighbors and officials.
Sources close to the investigation in the Dale County Sheriff's Office identified the suspect to NBC News as Jimmy Lee Dykes, age 65.
Police in the small town of Midland City, Ala. scrambled Tuesday afternoon after a gunman shot a local school bus driver and took a boy, age 5 or 6, hostage.
Local NBC station WSFA reported on Wednesday that the suspect was talking to police through a PVC pipe from an underground bunker where the man kept the boy captive overnight.
But before the dramatic events of the past two days, neighbors were worried about Jimmy Lee Dykes.
Dykes missed a bench hearing on a misdemeanor charge of menacing at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Dale County Court Circuit Clerk Delores Woodham told NBC News.
That charge is related to an allegation by a James E. Davis, Jr., who said that on Dec. 10 Dykes threatened him with a pistol and then fired at Davis’ truck as he pulled away, according to a document filed in Dale County District Court on Dec. 26, 2012.
The sources close to the investigation told NBC News that police did not know if the missed court appearance had anything to do with Dykes' motive.
Deputies from the county sheriff’s office had arrested Dykes on the charge of menacing. He was placed in Dale County Jail on Dec. 22 and bond was set at $500, according to the documents. No employment was listed on the documents. Dykes was bonded out that same day by D&D Bonding Co., Woodham said.
Neighbor Danny Dean, 57, said that he saw Dykes working in his yard most of the time.
“He's always got a shovel,” said Dean, who had lived in the neighborhood for about twelve years. “He loved to shovel for some damn reason.”
Dean said that Dykes only moved into the area about a year and a half ago. A property tax clerk for Dale County confirmed that Dykes has paid his taxes on his 1.5 acre property on time for the past two years.
Boy held hostage in bunker after being snatched from school bus
Dean, whose property is about three-tenths of a mile from Dykes’ home, said that he did not know the man well, but that no one else seemed to, either.
“He just works in the yard constantly,” Dean said of Dykes, who dug his own driveway. “As far as passing, he’s always been a friendly fellow.’
Another neighbor, Claudia Davis, told the Associated Press that she had seen a darker side of Dykes.
“Before this happened, I would see him at several places and he would just stare a hole through me,” Davis, 54, told the AP. “On Monday I saw him at a laundry mat and he seen me when I was getting in my truck, and he just stared and stared at me.”
Tim Byrd, a chief investigator with the Dale County Sheriff’s Office, told the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Hatewatch that Dykes was a “survivalist” with “anti-American” views.
“His friends and his neighbors stated that he did not trust the government, that he was a Vietnam vet, and that he had PTSD,” Byrd told the SPLC. “He was standoffish, didn’t socialize or have any contact with anybody.”
“He’s the type that thinks the government’s out to get him,” neighbor Michael Creel told local paper the Dothan Eagle. “He’s not right in the head.”
Another man who said he lives near Dykes told the AP that the man had once threatened his children after Smith’s dogs went on to Dykes’ property. Smith told the AP that his son and daughter were on the school bus during the shooting in Midland City on Tuesday.
“He’s very paranoid,” Smith told the AP. “He goes around in his yard at night with a flashlight and a shotgun.”
Eva Syples, a clerk for the Dale County Probate Office, said she has lived in the area since 1968 and the small town has never seen anything like the situation that developed Tuesday. She said most people just stop at the fresh fruit and vegetable stands and barbecue joints that dot Highway 231 on their way by the town to Montgomery or the beaches of Panama City, Florida.
It’s the kind of small town where people extend an unasked for hand, Syples said: “They have true southern hospitality down here. We go above and beyond to help your neighbor.”
The owner of one of those nearby barbecue stands, Charlie Webb, said his restaurant sits on Highway 231 about 300 yards from the property where law enforcement converged on Tuesday afternoon.
“Most people just pulled up in the parking lot wanting to know what was going on,” Webb, 59, said of the people that pulled into his Webb’s 231 Bar-B-Q last night to watch the police lights. “They’re all just pretty shocked.”
NBC News correspondent Gabe Gutierrez contributed to this report.
Leave a Comment:
Ok - I can't help but think there's been a lot of messages from God during Obama term:
Outrageous numbers of Mass shootings - need gun safety/control
Climate Change - Superstorm Sandy, see below
Need for alternative feuls- BP disaster
Near Depression (taking over after 08 crash) - need for financial reform
Zero progress in Afghanistan and Iraq in over 10 yrs of war - get the frick out of Afghan already!!
I know, simplistic. But still...
There is nothing new happening. The mainstream media just refuses to report on anything that doesn't fit their profile for pushing their agenda. Your "outrageous numbers of mass shootings" is only because you don't see the weekend reports out of Chicago, Los Angeles or Detroit on a regular basis, and you're hearing about gun violence now because the news media is ALL ANTI GUN.
I'm SO sick of the "oh, he was a loner" media focus every time a "loner" does something. Uh, yea, sure--as if those with friends and family never fly off the handle and do something obscene like commit a murder or hurt others...
Most who identify as being loners are societal oddballs, but that does not by definition make them dangerous; for whatever reason, they prefer their own company or cannot handle the company of others. Is that a crime now? We must all have a few thousand friends on Facebook and regularly visit the local bar to "prove" that we're okay by modern standards?
Also, someone that the media calls a "loner" may, indeed, have family and friends that have either not come forward by press time or that prefer not to be immediately identified with someone that has just committed a crime.
Plenty of recent shooters have had their families prominently mentioned in news stories. Generally, but not always, it's because they shot members of their families.
But it is useful for the public debate to include behavioral descriptions of the shooter given by people who have observed him over time prior to the shooting.
Not all shooters will come from one behavioral profile (such as "loner"), but the better we can understand profiles that deserve further attention, the more often we can get people like this more help and fewer guns.
Basics, right, nothing happening. Sorry to disagree, but I don't find events like this routine, and hope I never get to feel that way. He threatened a neighbor with a pistol, then shot at an occupied vehicle, was only charged a misdemeanor, and was allowed to keep the pistol he ended up using to murder a bus driver. Don't you just love living in the land of the free? A survivalist? Or another Obama plot to create an anti-gun reaction?
Quick, someone grab his tin hat... screw loose, check; eyes fogged, check; cheek twitching, check...
Ban handguns.
This is the continuing news saga "brainwashing" that "loners" & people that "mistrust" their government are "misfits" & should be locked away or removed of certain rights of "other" more "normal" citizens!
................... BULL@!$%#! .......... Please show valid independent physiological studies that implicate these people have a greater likelihood to commit violent crimes than other like groups in our society.
Do we now need additional laws because there is a concerted effort to vilify another group?
And you chose to trust your government & your representatives that you send to Washington? That your choice .... but please allow me mine of not trusting them, without grouping me, and vilifying my position, to stifle free thought .
In many cases "Paranoia" is a "acquired asset" of experience .... especially when it concerns bankers, lawyers, or government!
PTSD in a Vietnam vet. And just think how many Iraq and Afghanistan vets are coming home with PTSD who are not able to get the treatment they need because our government doesn't want to foot the bill. And no, it's NOT just Obama's administration. The previous administration did exactly the same, and Romney's would have, too.
Nah, he's just another responsible gun owner and member of the NRA.
This guy is exactly the sort of person who should not have been allowed to own guns. Now, I know, before you all come down on me, it's going to be very hard to do what I just suggested in a way that's consistent with due process.
But, come on. When you see somebody with these characteristics walking around his yard at night with a shotgun, don't you have to pick up the phone and call somebody?
“His friends and his neighbors stated that he did not trust the government, that he was a Vietnam vet, and that he had PTSD,”
If he has PTSD and is recieving Disablitity for that condition then he is not supposed to have guns. Explain how he's a responsible gun owner?
We have sheriffs in this country who have pretty much gone on the public record as saying that they won't do a thing to take away anyone's guns unless there's a crime committed, if then.
As far at the NRA and some Oregon sheriffs and their supporters are concerned, you, RonB from Pittsburgh, should have your shotgun trained on him if you're so worried.
David Noah
“His friends and his neighbors stated that he did not trust the government, that he was a Vietnam vet, and that he had PTSD,”
If he has PTSD and is recieving Disablitity for that condition then he is not supposed to have guns. Explain how he's a responsible gun owner?
As a Vietnam War veteran having suffered from PTSD for 45 years now I am very familar with it. Having PTSD does not prevent gun ownership, nor should it. It is not a 'mental illness' which should prevent gun ownership. It is treatable, and not usually cause for alarm as a dangerous condition. Most sufferers are more likely to self-destruct, not explode outward. If in fact this guy is a war veteran, he should never been able to own guns EVER. He apparently has been 'crazy' for a while, not overnight.
And I am NOT a gun owner, by my choice.
Does someone care to explain to me why after Newtown MOST people where disgusted, but the gun-nuts only worried about the Government coming for their guns, what a bunch of despicable sick people.
Bikerchick, I know the frustration, but before you blame the administration completely, look up how your congressmen/women voted on VA benefits. I think it'll sink in better if you saw it yourself. Especially some veterans, like Allen West and John McCain.
This is the problem with the anti gun crowd. Instead of claiming that everyone with a gun is a "responsible gun owner and member of the NRA", you should be pushing for harsher punishment of those committing crimes with guns.
It's bad enough to pull a gun on somebody but when you pull that trigger, you should be put in jail and have your guns confiscated.
By the way, just because someone owns a gun, doesn't make them an NRA member. That's like saying everyone that drives a car belongs to AAA and has insurance.
Will you then call for a ban on cars the next time you get into an accident with a driver with no insurance?
ElkMeadow:
I hear you. And you're right. According to the NRA, the only answer to a bad guy with a gun is a shootout.
And when the police arrive on that scene, which guy will they shoot?
Why that little boy? Why any child? How scared he must be. I hope more than anything that this nutcase sees fit to release the boy safe and sound. How horrible for him and his parents. I can only imagine what they might be going through. If it were my child, they'd have to tranquilize me.
Amen, lola.
So, I can walk around digging holes in my yard at night with a shotgun and nobody cares to ask why I'm crazy? You'll never stop gun deaths until we start addressing the serious lack of state-run mental health facilities. Never. We don't have anywhere to warehouse these insane people.
Walking around your yard with a shotgun is not a crime. Someone may well have reported it, but there is nothing they can do. You can't force crazy people to get help without a court order, and it's a giant pain in the you-know-what to get one of those. A crime has to be committed in most cases.
I hope and pray this little boy is safe!
The problem is that we can't lock away anybody who patrols their yard with a gun & flashlight & thinks the government is out to get them--it would be half the country. And most of these people will never actually do anything violent. This guy had "danger" written all over him...but only in retrospect. You can't lock folks up until they actually DO something like this, certainly not for life.
Even if the guy was institutionalized for a few days or weeks, he could easily act when he gets out. And nobody wants their tax money going to all this stuff. Imagine what it would cost to have the facilities to give everybody like this the help they need. So we're just stuck with the shooting du jour and trying to protect our own families--excuse me while I go patrol my yard borders with my shotgun (and I'm only half kidding!). There's really nothing to be done, which is sad, but seems true to me.
What I wonder is how so many of them balance the yard-patrolling with finding time to post here. ;)
But seriously, you don't have to institutionalize him to make a difference. But we need to better understand what goes on in such peoples' minds and how to recognize and avert the real dangers.
Talk to Ronald Reagan's ghost, since he defunded mental health care.
MT, The man waved a pistol around threatening a man, then shot at his truck when he drove away. almost two months ago. Why was he able to still have his gun? They should have at least taken the guns until he'd been checked and found to not be a threat........ massive fail
Folks! Please don't name your kids "Jimmy Lee Dykes." You are just asking for trouble. People with three names grow up to do crazy $hit. Lee Harvey Oswald, John Wayne Gacy, etc.
John Bryant, remember he was in Alabama, land of the gun nuts, especially in the southern parts of the state. And yes, suffering from PTSD, shooting at someone with a pistol two months earlier even if it was from his own yard, were all causes for alarm and his firearm should be cause to take it from him. But not in Alabama or Florida or several othe states.
I firmly believe someone should be allowed to own a weapon, but should not be allowed to own an AR-15, AK-47, high capacity magazines and should have to have instant weapons checks. I can turn an AR-15 or AK-47 into an fully automatic weapon in short time. Hell, the instructions are on the net. And a person can buy gun parts, all the parts to DIY an automatic weapon, off the 'Net.
Now I know that not allowing someone to own a certain type of weapon will not stop a mule, nor will the banning of high-capacity magazines from someone owning them. After all, private sales take place all the time. But instant background checks and the ban on semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines will hold down a lot of people from getting their hands on those weapons and magazines. However, shotguns are legitimate hunting weapons and I don't see banning them.
There isn't a cure for PTSD, just treatment, as the Emporer of the North Pole pointed out. However, there are symptoms that definitely are listed as psyciatric problems under the DSM. As the Emporer pointed out, at no time should this person have been allowed to buy a handgun. And a responsible gun owner would have, hopefully, seen some type of danger in selling it in a private sale. Instant background checks at gun shows would have hopefully kept him from buying a handgun.
As far as getting help, Montgomery and Tuskegee, Alabama both have VA hospitals with full psychiatric and psychological help for people with PTSD. He might have been going to either and might not have. I don't know, but I'm within 70 miles of three VA hospitals, do have PTSD from Vietnam, and get help for it. I'm not cured nor will I ever be. Due to my own choice, just like the Emporer, I will never, and have never, owned any type of weapon. I know myself too well.
There just isn't a good answer to the question of buying a weapon or owning one. Banning the types of weapons mentioned and instant background checks would go a ways. Other than that, I just cannot think of anything else that might help.
Jackieboy,
The south is the land of the gun nuts? Really? Dam, you Yanks sure are full of your selves. I grew up on a large farm. We had guns for a reason. Wild animals. We had 3 guns. 32 for small animals, 38 for the middle of the road animals and my Winchester pump for the larger animals (Deer & Bear). And we used all three on a reg basis to keep the animals from our very large garden and live stock. We are not gun nuts. We use guns to protect our livelihood!!! There are times when I have seen an ar-15 come in handy on a farm. large herds of deer will destroy a garden in short order. Deer run very fast and you need to thin the herd to keep them from destroying your crops, Ar-15 or semi auto is what you need. You do not have enough time to aim for every shot. Once the first shot is off the deer scatter very very quickly. We never used one on our farm, but had a neighbor that had one due to the deer on his land always in his garden. He never shot anything with it but deer. Most people are responsible gun owners.
Always had guns and always will. I believe in background checks for any and all guns. But we are missing one of the problems is the background info is not up to date. people that should be flagged are not being flagged. What good is a background check if it is not current? That is the police's and government's responsibility. Just this week a man that shot and killed his mother as a 17 yr old had his records sealed & was let out only to buy a stash of guns legally. Due that there was no info on what he had done when he was 17, he was allowed to buy them. He should not have been able to buy those guns. We are too worried about the criminals rights, that we are taking law abiding citizens rights away. Even if we confiscate all guns from the law abiding citizens, the criminals will still have their guns.
My Grandpa did use our neighbors ar-15 when we had a problem with the coyotes and it worked very well for that too. We have to be smart about enacting blanket laws and what their effect will be on the law abiding citizens. Not just have knee jerk reactions that could have serious repercussions.
Jackieboy,
First off that would be a felony to modify the firing mechanisims to make a semi-auto go full auto. Only a class 3 FFL holder can do that, and they also must be a trained gunsmith. Second, it would be another felony to buy the parts off the internet without paying the $200 ATF Stamp Fee, submitting to additional FBI background checks, fingerprints, interviews with the ATF/FBI, and submitting a list of 15 people who know you that would also be interviewed. It's about a 6 month long process. Third, what makes you think criminals that already buy weapons on the black market or from one gang member to another would all of a sudden start submitting to background checks? Last, there are over 100,000,000 semi-auto firearms in this country. Roughly 24,000,000 assault style weapons. No ban will do anything to those guns. The last ban didn't do anything, plus there were more murders in each of those ten years than there have been in the 8 years following the expiration of the ban. There were 23 school shootings were more than 1 person was killed during the 1994-2004 ban, a total of 152 people were killed in those school shootings, and a total of 230 instances where a gun was used on school property that did not result in a death or injury during the 1994-2004 ban. Just how would a ban stop or prevent the school shootings? Do you know what the most common gun used in murders is?
Don't forget, do NOT use Wayne as a middle name!
list of convicted killers with the middle name Wayne---it is huge
Herewith is the list, as of News of the Weird 809, August 10, 2003 (* deceased):
Timothy Wayne Adams (Texas)
Thomas Wayne Akers (North Carolina)
Stephen Wayne Anderson (California)*
Joshua Wayne Andrews (Virginia)
David Wayne Arisman (California)
Timothy Wayne Barnett (Alabama)
Gerald Wayne Bivins (Indiana)
Scott Wayne Blystone (Pennsylvania)
Steven Wayne Bowman (South Carolina)
Ricky Wayne Brown (Florida)
Michael Wayne Brown (Oklahoma)
Bradley Wayne Cagle (Texas)
Seth Wayne Campbell (Texas)
Darren Wayne Campbell (Oregon)
Mark Wayne Campmire (Connecticut)
Ronald Wayne Clark, Jr. (Florida)
Douglas Wayne Clark (Texas)
Darryl Wayne Claughton (Alberta)
Kevin Wayne Coffey (Texas)
Michael Wayne Cole (North Carolina)
Joseph Wayne Cook (North Carolina)
Billy Wayne Cope (South Carolina)
Alvin Wayne Crane (Texas)*
David Wayne Crews (Tennessee)
Donald Wayne Darling II (Alabama)
Christopher Wayne Davis (Louisiana)
Gary Wayne Davis (Kentucky)
Jerry Wayne Dean (Kentucky)
Gary Wayne Drinkard (Arizona) (ACQUITTED at retrial after 5 years on death row)
Aryan Wayne Duntley (California)
John Wayne Duvall (Oklahoma)*
Dennis Wayne Eaton (Virginia)*
Dale Wayne Eaton (Colorado)
Michael Wayne Eggers (Alabama)
Gary Wayne Etheridge (Texas)
Michael Wayne Farmer (Maryland)
Ellis Wayne Felker (Georgia)*
Michael Wayne Fisher (Pennsylvania)
Terry Wayne Freeman (Illinois)
Percy Wayne Froman (Alabama)
Ronald Wayne Frye (North Carolina)*
Morris Wayne Givens (Alabama)
Richard Wayne Godwin (Oregon)
Arthur Wayne Goodman, Jr. (Texas)
Richard Wayne Gorrie (New Zealand)
Jeffrey Wayne Gorton (Michigan)
Coleman Wayne Gray (Virginia)*
Christopher Wayne Gregory (Texas)
Ralph Wayne Grimes (Kentucky)
Anthony Wayne Grimm (Illinois)
Randall Wayne Hafdahl (Texas)*
Conan Wayne Hale (Oregon)
Kenneth Wayne Hall Sr. (South Carolina)
Michael Wayne Hall (Texas)
Steven Wayne Hall (Alabama)
Jerald Wayne Harjo (Oklahoma)*
Robert Wayne Harris (Texas)
Carl Wayne Heath (Maine)
Brandon Wayne Hedrick (Virginia)
Michael Wayne Henry (Texas)
Rodney Wayne Henry (Kansas)
Donald Wayne Holt (Maryland)
Bryant Wayne Howard (Oregon)
Kenneth Wayne Jackson (Texas)
Allen Wayne Jenecka (Texas)*
Mark Wayne Jennings (Virginia)
Robert Wayne Jiles (New York)
Terry Wayne Johnson (Florida)
Jason Wayne Johnson (Texas)
Mark Wayne Jones (Ohio)
Bruce Wayne Koenig (Maryland)
Derrick Wayne Kualapai, Sr. (California)
Dudley Wayne Kyzer (Alabama)
Monty Wayne Lamb (Texas)
Jeffrey Wayne Leaf (Oklahoma)
Christopher Wayne Lippard (North Carolina)
Kenny Wayne Lockwood (Texas)*
Mark Wayne Lomax (Texas)
Shelly Wayne Martin (Maryland)
Donald Wayne Martin (Texas)*
Steven Wayne McBride (Minnesota)
George Wayne McBroom (Arizona)
David Wayne McCall (Texas)
Rocky Wayne McGowan (Kentucky)
Jason Wayne McVean (Colorado)
Wesley Wayne Miller (Texas)
Jimmy Wayne Miller (Texas)
John Wayne Moore, Jr. (Missouri)
John Wayne Moses (North Carolina)
Jack Wayne Napier (Kentucky)
Danny Wayne Owens (Alabama)
Bryan Wayne Padd (Arizona)
David Wayne Pallister (England)
Jeffrey Wayne Paschall (Utah)
Michael Wayne Perry (Tennessee)
Jason Wayne Petershagen (Texas)
Curtis Wayne Pope (Texas)
Donald Wayne Rainey (Mexico)
Randy Wayne Richards (Canada)
Robert Wayne Rotramel (Oklahoma)
David Wayne Satterfield (Texas)
Christopher Wayne Scarber (Kentucky)
Michael Wayne Sears (Virginia)
Dallas Wayne Shults (Tennessee)
Mark Wayne Silvers (South Carolina)
David Wayne Smith (Virginia)
Daryl Wayne Smith (West Virginia)
Richard Wayne Smith (Texas)*
Richard Wayne Snell (Arkansas)*
Richard Wayne Spicknall (Alabama)
Randall Wayne Stevens (Illinois)
John Wayne Stockdall (Missouri)
Michael Wayne Summers (Missouri)
Gary Wayne Sutton (Tennessee)
Bobby Wayne Swisher (Virginia)*
Michael Wayne Thompson (Indiana)
Andrew Wayne Toler (Texas)
Robert Wayne Vickers (Arizona)*
Billy Wayne Waldrop (Alabama)*
Jerry Wayne Walker (Kentucky)
Anthony Wayne Walker (Ohio)
Daniel Wayne Warfield (Virginia)
Louis Wayne Watters, Jr. (Texas)
Coy Wayne Wesbrook (Texas)
Larry Wayne White (Texas)*
Michael Wayne Williams (Virginia)
Richard Wayne Willoughby (Maryland)
Kenneth Wayne Woodfin (Virginia)
Bobby Wayne Woods (Texas)
Darrell Wayne Wright (Texas)
William Wayne Wright (Texas)

@ Scott:
Is that for real? I know you don't provide any comparison (e.g., killers with the middle name "Xavier"), but that is astonishing!
I've never researched any other names, it's just something I've heard in the past.
Pretty freaky huh?
He is just the tip of the iceberg as far as certifiable mentally ill folks wandering the streets and communities of the US. We have gone so far to protect the rights of the mentally ill we have forgotten the rights of the rest of us to live without fear and danger. Anyone walking around at night with a flashlight should be taken in for an evaluation and kept in the hospital until it is determined they are not a danger to self or others. This of course does not happen as this would infringe on his rights. what's crazier than this man is the system that allows this to happen over and over all over the country.
It's more than the issue of infringing on rights. How does anybody really know that the person is no longer a danger? And who decides what is crazy? I've heard some pretty crazy rants from folks--does that make them dangerous or are they just speaking their opposition to the government? Do you want somebody to be able to tip off the crazy police and have them come after you? And can you imagine the riots when taxes are raised to keep these people off the streets?
People don't want to pay for anything for the "moochers" and "takers." I know a few people on SSI (for being mentally ill), and people think they shouldn't be paying for these folks because they seem fine--to them. What they don't realize is they are seeing them under mental health care and serious meds. Take away the home nursing aid who makes sure they take their pills everyday, and they could easily go postal. But people are batsh!# at the thought that their taxes pay for these guys to sit in the local coffee shop all day while they work. We can't have it both ways.
William & Lee,
We are missing the whole point of what is wrong with our country. We have let all the politicians (Both Repbs & Dems)run this country in the ground. The repubs are for the rich & Big Biz and the Dems want everyone on the government's dime to control us. The middle class that just want to make an honest living and raise a family are the ones that are getting kicked in the teeth. We are loosing our jobs, our homes and retirement. We are being force into poverty and people react, due that they have lost everything and have nothing else to loose.
If our country is in such debt and we can not even take care of our own people, tell me why do we give so much money to other countries? If we would take the Billions that we give to other countries, there would be enough money to take care of the mentally ill and homeless in this country. The government enact bills that favor the Special interest in this country, not taking care of it people. We need to be an isolationist country for about 3 to 5 yrs and focus on healing America from with in. We need to stop trying to save the world and start saving ourselves.
When are we going to quite letting our politicians divide us as a nation. We need to wake up. We need to come together as Americans and demand that our Government start doing their jobs and take care of the people in America, not the world. Believe it or not meeting in the middle and compromising for the greater good of the country is not a bad thing. It is the right thing!
Crystey,
Since we are a member of NATO, and a leading member of the UN we (The United States) are required by those groups to provide some financial support to other countries.
The little boy must be so scared. I can't stop thinking about him. Why is it taking so long?
Just wait until the new crop of war vets start coming home, this is gonna be a common theme! My brothers and I are gonna buy some asualt weapons before the ban that is about to come down.
freedom of speech and the right to bear arms makes america great!
I thank this website for giving us the opportunity to express our views! America is fantastic!
Positive thoughts for the child and severly negative ones for the crazy SOB that took him.
Loner my ass.
A Anti-American Republican Gun Loveing domestic terrorist!
Your obviously an idiot Trantham. This has nothing to do with "anti-government, politics or terrorism". It's mental health or lack there of.
Anyone that listens to FOX news should be put in the Mental Health Hospital.
@ Trantham... you got that right
If you don't like the medical treatment that the vets get you won't like yours in a few years either. The vets get their medical care from the government and soon we all will too.
Nonsense.
Out here in the reality-based community, health insurance continues to be run by the same companies that ran it yesterday. To the extent that ACA changed that at all, it changed it to give you more rights.
And another version from the Comcast newsfeed....
http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20130130/US.School.Bus.Driver.Shot/
Where this failed is that there were numerous RED, I mean bright shiny RED flags before this incident. Sure, it may be constitutionally ok to walk your property at night with a flashlight and shotgun, but is it indicative of someone mentally healthy? Without good reason to be out there (thought a burglar was there, blah blah), probably not. This guy took a potshot at someone with a GUN, and they let him out on $500 bond and then, unbelievably, let him KEEP his gun(s)! There's your failure, right there. Why wasn't a psych eval mandated? It's time for the rights of the innocent, everyday citizen to trump the rights of the mentally ill (or possibly mentally ill).
Exactly right. When I posted above, I had forgotten that he had already taken a potshot at that other guy. That is a clear line that should have called for more intervention than was done.
This man, when he finally sticks his head out of his hole in the ground, needs to have whatever brains he might have left right out the back of his head, if they can get at clear shot without endangering the child. If I had a neighbor who walked around his yard at night with a shotgun, the moment he pointed it in my direction would be the last moment of his life.
This man, when he finally sticks his head out of his hole in the ground, needs to have whatever brains he might have left blown right out the back of his head, if they can get at clear shot without endangering the child. If I had a neighbor who walked around his yard at night with a shotgun, the moment he pointed it in my direction would be the last moment of his life, because you never, ever wait for them to actually pull the trigger before returning fire, and especially with a shotgun.
“He loved to shovel for some damn reason.” - Investigators should start digging up his yard
The issue here, and with so many tragedies, is not gun control- its the lack of mental health care. Take all the guns away and these disturbed individuals will still find a way to kill and cause mayhem.
I know alot of people who are not from rural or southern culture doesnt understand a man patrolling his yard with a shotgun at night. My neighbor does it. Hes had issues with coyotes. Alot of bunkers are scattered across the south. Some are for tornadoes, some are from paranoia. There is a lot of "we mind our own business" mentality with what people do in the privacy of thier own acreage. They paid for it, its thiers. People kick dogs down here. is it righ? nooooo, but its been going on a long time. The police are underpaid, out manned and often related to everyone in the county so alot of oddball behavior slides. The response time in my area is 30 minutes after dark for ambulance or police. Do i need a gun? yep. theres snakes, meth cookers, copper strippers, coyotes, and god knows what else out there in the dark, and along those roads with no cell coverage. One old vietnam vet in his underwear and workboots with a shotgun and a surly attitude is fairly normal. THATS why nobody noticed. They are everywhere down here, and occassionally one snaps. Im not going to volunteer to disarm them, hell no. Usually they just mind thier own business. Im grateful for my open carry state. lol. Its still safer than Chicago. I would NEVER go there.
HEY WRITER!!!!
Midland City is not in the boondocks, as much as this article may lead us to believe. It is on the outskirts of Dothan, AL and smack between Ft. Rucker Army base and the Dothan airport. Not everything in Alabama is some version of Mayberry...
C'mon Storm! This place is so backwater it should have three names just like "Jimmy Lee Dykes."
RandogM,
Most people have a middle name. Journalists use the full name for the reason that anyone else with the name of Jimmy Dykes or James Dykes is not confused with or mistaken for the real criminal - James 'LEE' Dykes.
I see your point. I truly think this is mostly media pushing these stories through. I don't know if they have an "agenda" per se, but I think they believe they get better ratings and therefore make more money because of it. Because of the outrage from the CT shooting, they know any and all gun violence (that is not gang related) will make their readers notice so they find stories like this, and put them on national news. It's a shame really....because I'm not so sure gun violence is up, it's just making more headlines. It's a shame that so many people jump on the bandwagon....politicians know this and use it to their advantage. I just wish Americans were smart enough to see the difference between "News" and the News.
The news is we need a gun ban.
It basically all boils down to "what came first, the mental breakdown or the gun.".
I have said this before but to prevent future incidents like this, we have to report irratic behavior of a neighbor. Especially if he owns guns. But there are quite a few who think this trampling the rights of gun owners. Personally, I think it's being a responsible human being. It's time to drop the pro-gun and anti-gun rhetoric and just say "enough".
Crime rates have come down since the 1980's....yes, LESS gun violence from 30 years ago can you believe it? By the way the media tries to twist it....I wouldn't believe it either - but it's true. I just wish they'd put more effort into trying to get the economy going rather than avoiding that and making guns their agenda. They must think it's an easier thing to accomplish. It's too bad American's can't see what's really going on. Look for yourselves...go on the FBI crime statistics. They break it down to types of crimes, weapons, victims etc. Every category has seen a decrease. So why does the media portray it like gun violence is out of control???? Maybe they should focus what's on the increase...like suicides and unemployment and foreclosures.
It seems like they could release an orderless sleeping gas into the bunker through the PVC pipe and put them to sleep.
I dont belive reporting erratic behavior will curtail anything. I can call on my neighbor and say hes at the mailbox in a pair of bikini briefs again glaring at me, but they will laugh. because he is on his property, and its MY problem that he scares me some. They get involved when he breaks the law. Its MY responsibilty to make the choices I have now... stay. move. bigger fence. patrol MY yard with a shotgun so he knows ive got one. Good luck with the gun ban takenaka. You be sure to come knock on my door with your hand out. bring the sherriff. Look, ya'll, if we make a law asking the gov to babysit us and our neighbors behavior everytime a guy loses his bean, we will all put ourselves in little tiny boxes. A gun ban is simply pie in the sky thinking. You are not less safe today than you were when they started focusing on it in the media a few weeks ago. You will be less safe when the restaraunt you are in is robbed and a conceal carry hero isnt there to do something about it. A ban doesnt spell compliance.
-- a “survivalist” with “anti-American” views --
These are exactly the kind of people who demand guns because the 2nd Amendment guarantees the right of “survivalists” with “anti-American” views to own and use guns.
seems that way. The ones making the biggest stink, are the paranoid prepper types, with thier fear of becoming victims, who only seem to create victims with thier rage and unfounded fear of everything.
If you need to look over your shoulder, just to walk through life. You are not probably someone who should be armed. They say George Zimmerman was anxious and nervous like that. He called in something like 50+ calls, always about black men he felt afraid of.
Tell me that boy wasn't a lit fuse..