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A police source confirms to NBC News that this is the suspect in an Alabama hostage-taking, Jimmy Lee Dykes, 65.
The first picture emerged Friday of the Alabama man who authorities say has held a 5-year-old boy in an underground bunker for more than three days after snatching him off a school bus.
A police source confirmed to NBC News that the photo is of Jimmy Lee Dykes, who authorities say took the boy after shooting and killing the bus driver Tuesday afternoon in the small town of Midland City.
Dykes, 65, described by authorities and neighbors as a Vietnam veteran and survivalist with deep mistrust of the government, has communicated with hostage negotiators through a long PVC pipe.
The boy has Asperger’s syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a state representative said Thursday. Authorities have gotten medicine to the boy through the pipe, plus crayons and coloring books.
Bus driver Charles Albert Poland Jr., 66, was shot and killed while trying to stop the abduction. His children told NBC News that he thought of the children on the bus as his own, and took bullets for them as he might have for his son or daughter.
"Every time a child got on my dad's bus, they were no longer (with) their parents,' they were his," son Aaron Poland said in an interview that aired Friday on TODAY.
Police towed the bus away from the scene Friday after processing it for evidence.
The two men had a brief encounter a day before the siege, a neighbor said. Kelly Miller, who lives next door to Dykes, told NBC affiliate WSFA that Dykes boarded Poland’s bus Monday and spoke with him. She did not know what was said.
Then, on Tuesday morning, before the abduction, Poland gave Dykes a gift of eggs and marmalade to thank him for clearing off the driveway where the bus had to turn around, according to Miller.
Miller, whose sons Jessie and Jackson were able to leave the bus before the shooting, told the station that Dykes called her father to the property fence shortly afterward and gave him Poland’s gifts, saying: "Here. I don't want this."
Hours later, Miller heard shots and screams.
"Within seconds of me grasping what was going on, I knew it was Jim," she told WSFA.
Published reports have quoted neighbors as saying Dykes has spent as long as eight days at a time in the bunker.
A U.S. military official confirmed Friday that Dykes served a little more than four years in the Navy before being discharged in January 1969. He received several awards, including a medal for good conduct.
Neighbors have described him as a paranoid menace who killed at least one neighborhood pet and threatened children on his property. On the day of the school bus siege, he was due in court over allegedly shooting at a neighbor’s truck. Police have not said if they believe the planned court appearance was connected to the hostage situation.
RELATED: Son says bus driver in Alabama hostage crisis gave life for 'his children'
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So why were the neighbors putting "speed bumps" in the road and damaging the guys truck?
Why were their rotten kids on his property?
Why are their "pets" in his yard crapping?
The "neighbors" sound like people that should leave other people alone.
Here is a guy trying to be left alone and getting constantly pestered by "neighbors".
Now they know why he wanted to be left alone, he was crazy.
If he is smart, he understands the sad truths of this kind of situtation. Whatever the cops say is a lie, any promises they make are lies and when all is said and done, he is screwed and will rot in jail til he dies.
His bunker does not have wheels, he cannot get away. His only option is to let the kid go and kill himself before they can drag him off to jail to be raped by criminals.
If he lets the kid go, he might have a nice funeral with a few friends.
So, is the bus driver one of his neighbors? Did he deserve to die because some dog crapped on this lousy rednecks lawn?
Perhaps you'll be the first convenient target wandering past next time some ignorant redneck has dog crap on his lawn... I hope you remember to be so understanding when tragedy touches close to your trailer.
paidmyfee - Just curious if you also have a bunker and neighbor problems?
The speedbump you are referring to was built by Dykes. He fired at a truck for supposedly damaging his home made speed bump by driving over it.
He beat a neighborhood pet to death. He threatened children trying to look for their dog.
And you can justify his actions and blame the neighbors? No wonder this country is circling the drain.
.
Jimmy Lee Dykes: "I am the NRA"
dont take aways ma second mamendments
I know some guns are legal in England but not many
Well hear we go again its the NRA fault not the one holding the gun people kill people not guns guns are just a tool. When England took away guns the murder rate went up home invasion's went up crime went up so if you can tell me how banning will do anything but increase crime you are doing better than any one in the world can do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One thing now only criminals in england have guns
I am sure he is nra and believe in 2nd ammendment rights.
In three days they couldn't get a clear shot at him?
He's in an underground bunker...where have you been?
he looks like a real douchebag. Hopefully they off him and save the poor kid.
Oh....he's just charming.
we don't need gun control we need birth control! Degenerates making more degenerates is the problem.
Let me get this straight: If you are white and commit a crime with a gun, you are insane. If you are black, brown, yellow, or red, you are a terrorist who deserve a public execution.
Okay, now I got it. A white guy walks into a store with an assualt rifle on his shoulder, he just exercising his 2nd amendment rights. He takes that same gun off his shoulder and starts shooting folks, now he's insane? Yep, now I get your logic. You gun nuts are just not right. You are not insane, instead you are selfish
That's not true and I think you know it. Crazy is just as criminal as any other criminal. What is being said by neighbors, etc., is that they have dealt with crazy behavior. Doesn't make it better! Doesn't make him less a criminal. The sad thing about this kind of guy is that it is obvious that he is not a normal thinking and feeling person, but no one can do anything until he commits a crime. We need to be able to change this, somehow.
Are gang members of any color crazy and insane? Maybe! I don't know? Point being, once they become a criminal it doesn't matter. The point is they are describing this guy's "insane" behavior prior to the shooting and abducting the little boy.
Well that would be great now, wouldn't it. You could lock up every religious rightwinger that opens their mouth defending what they believe in! Who do you suppose would decide for us, how crazy is crazy?
Is it just me or does anyone else sense that internet bots are posting on this thread?
What does internet bots mean???
What could Dykes be doing in that shelter now, trying to be the boy's grandpa?
I am feeling really concerned. What is he doing to that little boy? Days of molestation? Abuse? What? He is already traumatized, no doubt. I would be beyond terrified, if I was his parent. How do they get down to that underground bunker?
You are sick!
why don't we put these people on a domestic terrorist list?
I saw the question, who sold him the gun several times. Who cares? I wanna know why his shooting history did not warrent taking of any weapons he might have, regardless of where he got them? The guy is nuts! I see this soooo much. Makes me sick. There are so many ppl out there with a history of nutzynuss, and there they are, walking around causing death and pain.
People care about where he got the guns because if we are going to solve crazy people and/or criminals having guns, we first need to know where they got them! Those who care are concerned about how we stop the insanity - whether a nut job like this or the nut job gang members! We want the gun supplies to the nut-jobs/criminals to be stopped!
They can't lock up all the gun violators because the prisons are full of drug dealers.
Did anyone ever find out how or where the mother of the Connecticut killer got her banned weapon? The government doesn't even care. Their agenda has nothing to do with anything except being reelected. Quit fooling yourselves into thinking they do.
Sadly, the good guy today may be the bad guy tomorrow. Pretty sure the shooter in Newtown CT had no criminal record prior to 12/14 (although I am sure his mental state had generated previous concerns).
Totally agree with you. If you have the potential of losing your marbles (hearing voices, hating the gov't, thinking everyone is after you and your guns, etc.), you should not have access to weapons. And the NRA should be ashamed of themselves for protecting and loving guns more than people. Selfish people, all of you!
I really wonder if the individuals who are respectfully asking for their 2nd amendment rights to be upheld will be willing to listen to friends or family members who may some day have to tell them that the behaviors they are demonstrating are indicative of someone who may be losing their mental capacity. Many of these posts are saying to go in and take guns from individuals who are not acting sane. But is this not a violation of rights? It clearly is not a black and white issue (color not race) I just hope this little boy comes out safely and has access to the mental health care he will definitely need. The movie "A Beautiful Mind" comes to mind when I read these posts.
Hates government, bomb shelter, heavily armed, paranoid. Sounds like every libertarian I ever met.
Instead of attacking each other regarding race, political views or NRA membership, we should all be praying together for this boy's safe return to his family.
No doubt a voting member of the NRA
This guy is the Republican base.
Yup, there it is!
La Pierrie of the NRA said- the only way to stop our deranged members from mass shootings or kidnapping children, is to arm all non-NRA members.
yet another "paranoid menace" that is allowed to own firearms...
where are all the "responsible gun owners" that could have stopped this tragedy??? "It takes a good man with a gun to stop a bad man with a gun", "if you restrict guns, then only criminals will have guns"
Another right wingnut causing terror via 2nd amendment. This was a cold blooded murder of an innocent man while doing his job and the kidnapping of an innocent child who is in grave danger. Yet, the same old breed of gun huggers are already going political and bashing the president and anyone else who opposes them. Their circus of profanity and wise-guy comments will fill this column while having total disregard for the victims as usual.
Well said!
Funny how all the other articles that have anything at all to do with guns have thousands of comments and this one has under 200. Where are you now gun nuts?? A little too close to home for you? Obviously this guy is crazy but just how different is he from so many others that wrap themselves so tightly in the gun culture? When guns are the only way you know how to express yourself then violence and dangerous behavior is way too easy to have happen. It's one thing to be mad and crazy but it's another to be mad and crazy with a bunch of guns. Can't wait to see how the NRA spins this one!
My ex-husband was drafted at the start of the Vietnam War. He lived on a farm and had very little exposure to any other lifestyle. He was given 6 months' training in the States before being in one of the first groups sent to Vietnam. He spoke very little about it, mostly things he saw as funny. But he made a strong point of the fact that they had no idea what they were dealing with, could not tell who were the good guys or bad guys, couldn't trust even the kids and basically were not prepared at all for what they were doing.
Add to that the lack of support at home and the ridicule they received when they came home and it is little wonder that so many Vietnam vets have had and continue to have major emotional and mental health issues. At that time PTSD was not even a consideration as a cause of the failure of vets to adapt to 'normal' life.
Today the Armed Forces recognize the effect of combat situations on those in the military and help is offered, at least to some extent. Research has identified some of the major issues that are faced by those returning from combat. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is recognized as a very real and debilitating problem. Murders and suicides within the Armed Forces and among former military members are at a staggering number. The Vietnam vets generally were left to deal with their problems on their own, often by suppressing their emotions until they became too much for them.
My ex, who worked in the fire direction center, rationalized his part in the war by saying, "I never killed anyone; I just told them where to aim the Howitzers."
I'm obviously not defending the person in this situation, but I think we need to consider society's role in the development of the problem. We cannot just write these people off as nutcases who should never own a gun, when they were forced into using guns when they had no desire, training or belief in the necessity to do so.
Just hoping for a successful resolution of the current situation.
Can't wait to see the FBI charge in with Flame throwers and a BLITZ of automatic weapon fire like in Waco..
Back to your bunker!