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Subscribe to RSSThe family of the bus driver killed for refusing to hand over children is speaking out for the first time. NBC's Gabe Gutierrez reports.
The school bus driver killed this week in an Alabama hostage drama took bullets for the children on his bus just as he would have for his own kids, his son says.
When a child boarded Charles Albert Poland Jr.’s bus, “they were no longer their parents’, they were his,” Aaron Poland told NBC News. “And I know that’s the reason why my dad took those shots. It was for his children, just like he would do for me and my sister.”
Authorities say Jimmy Lee Dykes, a Vietnam veteran and survivalist, boarded Poland's bus on Tuesday and demanded two children. When Poland refused, Dykes shot him, authorities say. They say Dykes took a 5-year-old boy hostage and has been holed up in an underground bunker with him ever since.
Poland, 66, had driven a school bus for Dale County since 2009. Authorities said they found four shell casings at the scene.
"I expected them to say he had a heart attack or got in to a car wreck. Never in my wildest dreams did I think he'd get shot, and shot four times," Poland's sister, Vicki Upchurch, said Thursday.
Upchurch, who lives in Athol, Idaho, told NBC station KHQ of Spokane, Wash., that Poland family grew up in northern Idaho, where much of the family still lives. Relatives were planning to travel from Idaho to Alabama for his funeral services this weekend.
"We will get through this," Upchurch said. "My brother was very religious. He had a deep faith."
Poland joined the Army in the 1960s and moved to Alabama, where he married and had lived ever since, Upchurch said. She said he retired as a diesel mechanic in 2009 and had been driving a school bus to help support his wife until she was able to retire.
"My brother would have done anything to protect those kids," she said.
Schools Superintendent Donny Bynum said in a statement Wednesday that "Mr. Poland was well-loved by all of us here at Dale County Schools."
Hostage suspect was loner, missed court appearance
Poland's wife, Jan, remembered the man known to friends as "Chuck" as a gentle, caring man in an interview with a local newspaper, The Dothan Eagle.
Dale County Board of Education
Dale County bus driver Charles Poland, 66, was killed Tuesday.
Friends and family gathered Wednesday at the couple's home in Newton, about a 15-minute drive from Midland City, according to the paper.
"He loved them," she said of the friends and family shocked by Poland's violent death. "He loved everybody and he was loved."
Terry Roberts, a firefighter and youth pastor in Newton, told the Eagle that he had known Poland for most of his life.
Those who knew him are in "total shock," Roberts told the paper.
"The kids, everybody's just in total shock," Roberts said. "I've got a young child, so it really hits home."
The Dale County Sheriff's Department offered its condolences to Poland's family in a press release Wednesday.
"It says in the Bible the meek will inherit the Èarth," Poland's brother-in-law Melvin Skipper told the Eagle. "He was the meekest man I knew."
Alabama bunker hostage boy's family is 'holding on by a thread'
While neighbors have described Dykes, 65, as a paranoid survivalist who was always digging in his yard with a shovel, Poland's neighbor Hilburn Benton told the Eagle that the bus driver once helped him complete a major yard project and asked nothing in return.
"He told me, 'You're my friend and you're my neighbor. I'm not charging you a dime,'" Benton told the paper.
Schools in Dale County and in neighboring Ozark city were to remain closed for the rest of the week, according to a release Wednesday from the Dale County Board of Education.
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RIP Charles. What a shame man. Yes, he was a hero. He had a gun in his face and still stood up the guy saying "NO" that he wasn't going to allow this guy to take any children knowing he could lose his life.
That my friends, is a real, true man.
Why is it, the good guys get killed while the bad guys get free room & board, three meals a day, counseling, schooling, job training, cable TV, free dental, free Dr's visits, free medication, free "Everything" and in some cases, are then set free as if they were a fresh pair of jeans coming out of the dryer,....only to do it all over again.
CD - I couldn't agree more! Very well said.
shelteredinsd
Received....... Thanks
CD
You are so right! Thanks for saying what most of us are thinking!
CD - very well stated. Thank you!
Creek Dog,
"Why is it, the good guys get killed while the bad guys get free room & board, three meals a day, counseling, schooling, job training, cable TV, free dental, free Dr's visits, free medication, free "Everything" and in some cases"
While I agree with your feelings generally, I think if you check up on it you will find that medical care in prisons is pretty bad. I don't really know about the rest. As far as this bus driver is concerned, I agree that he was a hero.
Because our justice system is not about justice .It is about money and how much they can milk the taxpayers for .
well said CD and everything comes from the tax payers' pockets who are struggling to survive everyday.
You have that correct, Creek Dog. We have the Hug-A-Thugs for this mess.
He truly was a brave man- to stand up in the face of a weapon and say "no" was an incredible act of courage. I hope this man has a special place in heaven for his brave soul.
To answer your question about "why is it that..."
That's simple:
If he had pretended to comply, waited for chance to pull his concealed handgun and actually shot the perp dead, he would have been-
1. Sued
2. Reviled as a violent reactionary
3. Lost his job
4. Been excoriated for "endangering the children"
all of this even though he would have prevented the abduction and saved the children.
So in our hoplophobic culture, he is lauded as a hero for accomplishing nothing but the loss of his own life, yet would be crucified for actually preventing the abduction.
This is true in the land of unchecked, unmitigated paranoia.
Here in America, if he had waited for chance to pull his concealed handgun and actually shot the perp dead, he would have been-
HAILED AS A HERO - UNIVERSALLY
That said, I agree with you that he might have lost his job. Of course, with all the media attention, a smart company now hires the new hero and he's making 10x what he made as a bus driver.
Show me ONE INSTANCE where a man without a criminal record stopped a violent crime against children and was sued, reviled as a violent reactionary, and excoriated for "endangering the children'. This is paranoid NONSENSE and there is no precedent from which you can base your claim.
Creek Dog
I couldnt have said it better. He is he epitome of a Hero!!!
Creek Dog I 100000000000% agree and no one could have said it better! The man is a hero - no doubt. The man holding the child is DERANGED! However that is no excuse for the trauma he is causing that child and his family! I pray for the child - the gunman NO! It is a travesty that the "perps" have more rights and are taken care of better than the victims! as for whoever said the "medical care in prison is bad" - SO WHAT! they aren't there on vacation! why should they be entitled to "premium care"? We coddle offenders too much in this country! I pray for the child's safe return, that he gets the professional help he will need to recover or come to grips with this event and the help his parents will need to get past this also. that is my wish for them. The "NUT" - hopefully KARMA will come into play SOON and end this mess whatever way it should be.
To all of you calling this bus driver a hero, I agree 100%.
To the one talking about how bad prison health care is. I agree with shadow, SO WHAT. But if you look at the news lately, you'd see how the state of MA is paying for an inmate to receive a sex change operation. WTF? If that's not "Premium care" I don't know what is.
It seems to me that most comments after creek dog on this subject are superflous or redundant. He is spot on with this one.
Oh it's more than a travesty. It's also a pure hyperbole, a delusion, a falsehood, a paranoid rant,.... it's so many things! Except true.
Jerry Sandusky is just one of a million examples why your statement is total bunk. He was a coach that was part of 3 National Championships and won 2 of them. He was a king in PA and while that helped him for a little while, eventually, the evidence and justice overcame his PSU Football shield.
Today, Jerry sits in the State Pen at Penn State with no chance at getting out before 30 years. His victims are suing his estate and Penn State blind and will win HUGE settlements. Jerry will never see another luxury item again for as long as he lives (rightfully so).
Just recently, Jerry made a case that his rights were violated. The judge told him in a legalese way to f-off and die. Jerry has no rights anymore and his victims will soon all be millionaires. I don't have a problem with any of it. Just don't try to say it's outside the norm, because it's not. Jerry's being punished and his victims are being compensated. This is the America I know. The "America" where guys like Jerry beat their charges and then sue their victims is something I HEAR all the time (from the paranoid anti-governement types), but never actually see.
Go ahead and cite the few aberrations and try to say that the norm. Not buying it. Jerry's not doing great and his victims are about to become millionaires. Stop trying to portray every prisoner as sitting under palm trees enjoying another day in a paradise that just happens to be surrounded with razor wire.
Harold -
www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1711925/posts
This man is a real hero and he should be highly honored. Wish his family the best.
Mickey-1983943: I think if you check up on it you will find that medical care in prisons is pretty bad.
Let me guess Mickey you know that by watching movies am I right.
Let me tell you something Mickey as a Former Correctional Officer, I will tell you that is a bunch of BS. Inmates get very good Medical care, better then most in the US.
Leatherneck,
"Let me guess Mickey you know that by watching movies am I right."
No. That is not right. I know that because I checked it out. The New York Times did a three part piece on prison medical care showing how bad it is, and there have been many complaints against the state of California alleging that as many as one prison inmate per week has been killed by the medical care there. Why don't you check it out yourself? If prison is the paradise of luxury you people try to portray it as being, then why are there prison riots, and why do people keep trying to escape? People would be trying to break into prison if it were as nice as you think.
Whether he had a weapon or not he would have still been viewed as "heroic" for doing what he could to protect the children under his charge. Had there not been a mental defective wanting to steal a child and commit murder the conservatives would have viewed him as a useless, worthless, godless, stupid, lazy, uncaring, under-worked, over-paid, over-pensioned, freeloading, "any idiot can drive a bus or teach a kid," public employee not worthy of a decent standard of living with full benefits, just like the teachers and other public workers that the conservatives love to vilify! Since Newtown and now with this, perhaps the time has come for the conservatives to change their attitude, tone and rhetoric when comes to those who work in the public sector, especially education. Nah....they'll never admit that their message is just plain wrong and their tone is offensively inaccurate and ugly!
Thanks Creek Dog. I couldn't have said it any better.... Mr. Poland is a true hero....
@mpa-4893349
Harold -
www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1711925/posts
Nice try, but... Any idiot can sue, even a knucklehead who breaks into a house and then sues for getting shot by the owner. Doesn't mean he's gonna prevail in court.
KB in GR,
"Any idiot can sue, even a knucklehead who breaks into a house and then sues for getting shot by the owner. Doesn't mean he's gonna prevail in court."
That is no longer true here in Arizona. They just amended the state Constitution barring burglars and such like from filing a law suite against the owner of the property.
Mickey-1983943: If you bothered researching what the New York Times were researching and based there talking points on. You will find they were looking at Jails and Detention centers.
Sorry to tell you and the New York Times Jails and Detention centers are not the same thing as Prisons and they have totally different funding and Medical that is provided to them.
Leatherneck918,
"Sorry to tell you and the New York Times Jails and Detention centers are not the same thing as Prisons and they have totally different funding and Medical that is provided to them."
So then, if we want good medical care, it would be in the best interest of all Americans to get themselves imprisoned. Is that what you're trying to tell us?
No Mickey going back to your post: I think if you check up on it you will find that medical care in prisons is pretty bad.
I was just saying that is Wrong from First hand Experience.
Leatherneck918,
"I was just saying that is Wrong from First hand Experience."
I don't want to sound like I'm beating up on you, but in response to that I could ask: First hand experience as what? A corrections officer or an inmate? I could also ask you where you got your medical degree. But never mind...
myname,
"But anyhow, the medical should be bottom of the barrel, and most of the other benefits creek mentioned should be taken away. Prison should be a punishment, if you want to try to reform them while they are being punished, then so be it."
Aside from the sex change operation, I can only respond to your attitude toward medical care for prisoners with the words of Jesus Christ: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." - Matthew 5:7 But, apparently, you do not believe all that nonsense.
This man has earned his place next to God and i'm sure thats where he's at. It's a shame their's not more of him on every corner. God rest his soul,and God bless his family.
Mickey-1983943: If you read post 1.20 you would know that answer too......
First hand experience as what? A corrections officer or an inmate?
From post 1.20: Let me tell you something Mickey as a Former Correctional Officer, I will tell you that is a bunch of BS.
Leatherneck,
"From post 1.20: Let me tell you something Mickey as a Former Correctional Officer, I will tell you that is a bunch of BS."
I know you are a former corrections officer, and that was exactly my point. A corrections officer is likely to have a considerably different view of the adequacy of medical care in prison than an inmate would have.
Could not have been stated any better
Not only the American people, but also the rank and file of the NRA are being done a disservice by the absolutist position of the organization’s executive VP, Wayne LaPierre. His testimony in Congress was a shining example of paranoia on parade. That, and a pretty serious exaggeration of his own fighting ability.
Let’s just assume, for the sake of argument and Mr. LaPierre’s delusions, that the United States Government’s primary goal is to subject its citizens to tyranny (a word with an archaic 18thcentury—and therefore patriotic—ring to it). With ferret-like eyes, it focuses upon an individual out in the woods whose liberties it wishes to trample upon, and dispatches a phalanx of black helicopters to implement its nefarious plan.
Since these gunships belong to the military, they are of course equipped with Gatling guns, cannon and probably a few racks of rockets. Our intrepid survivalist, upon hearing the clacking of the rotors, has already taken position behind the boarded-up window of his shack, and now lies in wait with his trusty Bushmaster, equipped with the extra-long magazine, for the jackbooted thugs to arrive.
You can figure out the rest of the story. The point is that even if this misconception were accurate, an unfettered exercise of the Second Amendment—misinterpreted as it is—probably wouldn’t do anything to change the outcome.
Meanwhile, there will be more mass shootings, and the public will slowly (but inexorably) come to the conclusion that Mr. LaPierre—and therefore his organization—is out of step. By the time the outrage has reached the point where Congress may finally be motivated to do something meaningful upon threat of electoral defeat, Mr. LaPierre’s cause may suffer more deeply than if he had acted reasonably when he had the chance.
Unfortunately, there’s a lot of money to be made right now—what with make-believe Minutemen stocking up on weaponry out of fear that the pinkos will try to deprive them—so the future isn’t on the minds of Mr. LaPierre and his paymasters in the arms industry.
Lowe
a paranoid survivalist with a "history of violent behavior" (NY Times). Please why, with his history, is he out preying on society and why does he have a gun?
Because, he started out as a very average and normal guy.
Then, the mental BS came in and here we are. If it were the other way around, he would not have been able to obtain a gun.
Not legally anyway but, there also lies "another" obvious problem we have in this Country....
Excellent question. In fact, why was he even free after he fired his gun at his neighbor? I believe the local District Attorney has liability in this case and in some ways, partially responsible for Mr. Poland's death.
Dykes killed a dog. Red Flag # 1. Then his extreme paranoia causes him to dig up his yard. Red flag #2.
THEN, Dykes takes a loaded firearm, aims it at his neighbor and FIRES HIS WEAPON. The only charge the D.A. files is "menacing", a misdemeanor? YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME.
Here in Maryland (and most states), if you take a loaded firearm, point it at a human being and fire the weapon, that's attempted murder, not "menacing". If this guy had done this in MD, he'd most likely still be in jail awaiting attempted murder charges. Posting bond for attempted murder is a lot harder than for "menacing".
The local D.A. LET THIS GUY OFF with a misdemeanor and look what happened? A good man is dead and a 5 year old boy traumatized. All because a D.A. didn't prosecute a CLEAR CUT CASE of attempted murder.
He was a Vietnam vet, probably with undiagnosed trauma, and yes, started out normal and deteriorated.
We cannot take away guns from people who hold unpopular ideas. However, his neighbors describe him as a "ticking time bomb." I know the type, having been stalked by a man who subsequently married and had children, only to go to prison for his treatment of them and of his wife. The police cannot do much about a "ticking time bomb" until he actually commits a crime - which this guy did, and failed to appear in court.
So, it was not the gun that was the problem, at least not initially. However, I will stick my neck out here and say that we are seeing more crimes committed out of paranoia than we did a decade or more ago. As a librarian I am seeing more anti-social behavior, more public outbursts and incoherent ranting, than I did in the library as a student, when the majority of crimes were flashing/peeping at women, stealing books/music, jimmying the xerox machine, and sexual harassment.
Radcliffe4 - please get over yourself. I don't believe for one second that the NRA or any other organization has every told anyone that this type of behavior is acceptable. You want to blame someone, I get that. How about blaming the person who committed these crimes. If you do something wrong no matter how small or large it is YOU are the one to blame. Not the NRA, not the TV and not the video games. You have freedom of choice and so choose how to act.
I agree....peole like that used to be committed to state hospitals
Creek Dog, James Holmes had a history of mental illness and still passed the background check to legally purchase his firearms. I agree with every other post you're making here, but that one's inaccurate.
Once again the Justice System is broken. To fire a gun at someone is attempted murder. Period. Menacing? Menacing might be holding a gun and threatening to shoot someone at the most liberal interpretation. Yet, waiving a gun and threatening someone is usually felonious mayhem or terrorism.
The fact he killed a dog should of been considered as well. Apparently he tortured the animal as well. According to reports/rumors.
The bottom line? The community needs to hold itself accountable. To look the other way seems to be the common thread in these recent nutbag killings.
Time to stop being PC. Time to call a nut a nut, a drunk a drunk, addict a addict. If they break the law they need to be confined. Stop plea bargains. Which I suspect what happened in this case. Probably charged with a more serious crime and pleaded down to a misdemeanor.
He'll probably kill himself, the question will be if he chooses to take this poor child with him.
Good luck to the child and his family.
My condolences to the family of Mr. Poland
It's all good. We do not have to "always" agree with everyone's posts.
This is what the vine is for.
Take care...
Jean from Alabama.
I agree....people like that used to be committed to state hospitals
Jean you are so right. Many of the state hospitals have been closed and people who had been in them for years were just released to walk the streets. It is sad because many had no families to go to or help care for them. Then you have things like this happen. It is very sad.
RIP--Chuck
Obviously background checks do not solve the problem.There is no sure fire way to predict when someone could snap.I hope we don't end up doing like Joseph Mcarthy did with his anti-communist witch hunts.
Unfortunately Wolfhound, I see it as exactly that. Holmes sought out mental health advise, but under the law they could not report this to the authorities unless he was considered a threat. Perhaps nothing he said to them triggered them to alert anyone.
Do people want ANYONE who seeks out mental health advise to be reported? There are so many varying degrees of mental illness. There are so many out there now who are on medications for some from of mental illness or another. Does that Mean ALL those people should be reported? Are ALL of them to be considered violent unless proven otherwise?
I did not know that either, riverboy21. Thank you for the information - that is most disturbing.
Riverboy -
If James Holmes had a documented history of mental illness, then he committed a felony when he purchased his firearms - lying on the form when asked about that history.
Background checks don't include access to mental health records (or any medical record). We have a federal law that prohibits this - HIPAA.
Barry informed doctors that no federal law prohibits them from reporting mental health issues to the federal government - then appointed a panel to study whether that is a true statement. Read the 23 EO's.
For background checks to stop this kind of disaster, HIPAA (and possibly other laws) will need to be revised or repealed.
As much as everyone would like to propose simplistic answers it isn't a simple issue.
Thank you, Riverboy.....
You are right....
Radcliffe................. you are rabid; and wrong.
mpa-4893349 It would be very good if Hipaa were repealed! The ridiculous, extreme, law has cost untold amounts of healthcare dollars trying to protect to the nnnth degree all forms of privacy.
my heart and prayers are with the family of that little boy, and the family Chuck left behind.
Tell it Creek Dog!! The system is so screwed up.
God bless Chuck and help his family and friends with their burden of grief. I will say no more at this time as the mad dog who did this may be reading his press.
Thank God for his blessings for the safety of the baby girl! As little as she may be she obviously misses his baby brother and everything should work out for his safety as well.
It's a shame the focus on these tragedy's is so narrow it only looks at the gun. This guy threatened to kill a neighbors kids and shot at another neighbors truck and he's still out and about with a handful of guns. Why? This guy should have been removed from the community and all his guns siezed! He should have been incarcerated and mandatory mental health examinations performed. Show me some laws for that! I'm tierd of seeing more laws to restrict guns and don't address the real problems or threats!
The story I read implied that the neighbor was IN the truck when he fired on it. That's attempted murder.
I am hoping that the same questions you asked are now being asked of the District Attorney who ONLY charged with him a misdemeanor for "menacing". Where else can you aim a loaded weapon at a human being, pull the trigger, and it's only a misdemeanor? This District Attorney has the blood of Mr. Poland on his hands.
I wonder if there will be a fund set up for this HERO's family. He surely would've been rewarded for saving all of those lives had he himself lived. A financial reward might provide some small measure of comfort to the Poland Family from feeling a wondrous sense of pride knowing that their beloved will go down in history as a HERO. RIP Chuck.
I've always hated it when people look at a picture of someone (usually a mug shot) and say "oh, he's guilty", /OR/ "look at that picture of her, of course she's insane". That kind of judgement from a picture is so unfair and so ludicrous.
Yet, I'm about to do it myself. I can't believe I'm saying this... but when I look at that picture of Mr. Poland, all I see is HERO. Just look at the man, "of course he's a hero".
Today, I stand before you as an unrepentant hypocrite. :) :) :)
Loren Oakley
I so agree with you. Yesterday I was reading an article where in Zimmerman's lawyer was asking for MORE donations to his legal fund to the tune of 300,000 dollars. They had already raised 300,000. dollars and expenses included 67,000 for living expenses, and I think 57,000 for protection and there were other things (he is living high off the hog) so I would rather put my money for this family rather than a guy who should get a public defender if he cant afford the lawyer he has. At least help to pay funeral expenses and help out his wife as one salary now has been taken away from running the household. I feel so bad for them - may he RIP and his family find some comfort in knowing the Hero he was in the end. My sincere condolences.
I just want to focus only on this brave man and the loss of this wonderful man and the children who were witness to their beloved protector being shot to death. That the killer has an innocent little boy who he is holding hostage is horrifying. I hope the negotiators can talk him into releasing him and again, all those kids and their parents and loved ones are going to be scarred and needing help though this ordeal.
what they did not mention is Ethan is not only a very scared little 5 yr old but he is also autistic.
My heart goes out to anyone who works with the public, including bus drivers (mass transit or school buses), teachers, police, customer service reps, counter workers whether food or retail, and of course we librarians. I have seen a marked change over the past decade: irrational and defiant behavior, people screaming on their cells phones, threatening...
I was physically threatened by a big guy on my first day as a librarian. He said, "I'll beat your cracker ass" for telling his friends not to congregate at one computer (which violates our rules) and I whirled on my heel and dared him to repeat it. When he disrespected me again I got in his face and made him leave the library - I still can't believe that I did it! The nature of public service has changed, and not for the better.
This bus driver probably never imagined that he would be in a life-threatening situation, driving kids to school. He's a hero, and it's a damned shame that these jobs are becoming more and more dangerous.
[delete]
You are right about public service workers having to take a lot of crap and, in the case of teachers, they get the blame all around...from government and from parents when we should be supporting them more instead of pushing a ridiculous no-child-left-behind bureaucracy on them.
I'm with Creek Dog, it seems that good people get killed or die, but the evil live long and walk among us. WHY????
Gun control laws.
I'm with Creek Dog, it seems that good people get killed or die, but the evil live long and walk among us. WHY????
I truly believe Evil is among us and and until we stop denying the power of God and deny his presence we will be left free in our will .
Reading comments in every article .....once you thank God for something or pronounce the name of God ....ten people will rise and scream stop .
So brothers and sisters of this nation we are in our OWN that Is WHY .
Charles you have a special place in heaven ,condolences to the family ,I'm happy for him for where he is now .NO negative reply keep it to your self ,do not pile more sins on you DENYING GOD .
You have to place blame where it belongs. The Attorney's and judges have given the guilty more rights than you the average law abiding citizen.
When the suspect kills you, you are sentence to death. When they defend and judge the suspect he is given the rights of this is just a momentary lack of judgement. The suspect can be reformed and given another chance. When he gets out and finds his life is the same @!$%#ty life he had before and now he can't get a job because he's a felon, he falls back into his old habits of killing only this time its easier and he has learned the system.
Is this what we are breeding through natural selection? Rational sane people getting killed by zealous gun wielding psychopaths. Eventually this will be the bulk of American and we will turn into the next Afghanistan or Iraq if something isn't done. I don't know what that something is... :(
If the bus driver was armed, he would still be alive today and the kidnapper dead instead.
But, no lets all give in like sheep to oduma, feinstein, and cuomo and create countless, needless more new gun laws on top of the ones they already don't enforce.
A armed society is the best deterrent to lawlessness.
Don't think so? Well just look to the east to Iraq, etc.
I legally carry concealed here in Florida. We like being to know we have the option of defending our lives against harmful acts.
The police can't be everywhere all the time instantly when we need them.
Be prepared to defend yourselves people.
Can you imagine how helpless the poor bus driver must have felt in the last few seconds of his life before he was shot?
I for one never want to be that vurneable to an assault on my life without at least going out with a fighting chance.
Oduam, feinstein, biden, or cuomo none of them was standing by the side of the bus driver or child to protect them were they?
Where were you?
Actually if his guns were confiscated after he started showing erratic behavior or if he was arrested after firing at people the bus driver would still be alive. The same people you are calling names are the ones trying to prevent this from happening. Take off your political blinders and think about it. And you do sound pretty vulnerable to me if you feel that you must have a gun to fell safe. No insult intended.
New Tampa, since the bus driver was not armed you cannot say with any certainty what would have happened if he were armed. Maybe Dykes would have fired at the children, killing several. Who knows?
NewTampaResident, even the NRA will tell you that the mere fact of being armed does not guarantee that a criminal, who by definition is not following any rules, will not surprise a gun owner or even take one's gun away. Responsible gun owners are confined by rules; criminals are not. Even if the bus driver was armed, what good would that do if he had not been able to draw in time before that lunatic pointed a gun at one of the riders?
Come on, let's have an intelligent discussion here.
New Tampa... if the bus driver had been a 110-lb female in her 60s, should she be armed? Should all bus drivers be armed?
How about a 110-lb female bus driver (in her 60s) who drives high school students? Should she be armed? Can a 17 year old teenager riding that bus over power a 110-lb female in her 60s?
Now there's a 17 year old with a loaded weapon on a school bus. And your 16-year old daughter/niece is on that bus.
Arming the bus driver is a terrible idea.... as short sighted as it gets. And for school districts scraping every penny they can scrounge, how much will it cost for firearms training for all their bus drivers?
Harold on the rocks -
". . . how much will it cost for firearms training for all their bus drivers?"
- Probably less than the overtime that is going to be paid to LEO's in this situation.
"Four spent bullets found at the scene."
I think you mean empty shell casings, there "journalist". Why is this crazy guy still holed up in his homemade bunker? Gas him out of there, and shoot him down like a dog in the street.
You forget the little boy is with him....
Really, the situation is delicate. Those negotiators know their jobs. You don't storm in there to shoot and punish anyone who is holding a hostage. That's not very smart. You have to think of the child.
Yeah, nevermind there's a little boy, gas him too! Seriously, you say stupid crap like this and advocate against gun control and (probably) don't understand why many of us think people like you are nuckin' futs.
Why do so many articles out there have typos? "Of" the bus. You mean "Off" the bus. It's just iritating!
I assume you mean "irritating"..... ;>)
That was a great comeback lol
Rip sir...your courage will not go un-noticed.
Prayers for everyone involved, including the gunman.
Definitely a hero. This is real man behavior.
"Greater love hath no man than he who would lay down his life for another."
I'm glad we haven't never had this crazy junk in our town...NUTS
No one has greater love than to give up one’s life for one’s friends. --John15:13
Wow, I shudder to think what a crazy old man with a gun could have done to those kids on a school bus had that bus driver not stood up to him. He is a true hero.
Prayers to the family of Mr. Poland. Guns don't kill people, lunatics with guns kill people.
I am pretty sure that drug abuse and mental illness is behind all of this violence.
Amused Muse, I do not agree. I am a Viet Nam veteran wounded 3X. Also with a degree in PSY. Most mental problems exist for years and need a catalist to trigger abnormal behavior. I think that if you research this perps behavior you may just find something that he experienced long ago before he became a Viet Nam vet. It could be possible that he did not experience combat. All Viet Nam vets are not mentally disfunctional. For every person who served in combat in Viet Nam there were 19 people supporting them in a non-combat role.
@Amused Muse
Why do you jump to the conclusion that this fruitcake is the way he is because he's a Viet Nam vet? Please tell me how they are different from a WWII vet, a Korean War vet, or a Iraq War vet? Perhaps while you are sitting at your library desk you can read up a little on that war so you know what you're talking about. (you know, check it out)
A very good person needlessly killed by a nut job. My sincere condolences to Mr. Poland's family. Now I hope the poor little boy can be saved without harm.
Amen.