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Subscribe to RSSA survivalist and his 5-year-old captive remained in a bunker in southern Alabama on Saturday as top hostage negotiators continued to communicate with the man. NBC's Gabe Gutierrez reports.
A young Alabama boy entered his fifth day Saturday in a bunker with the man accused of snatching him off a school bus.
Police said Saturday that the boy, aged 5, has toys, coloring books, and medication in the underground bunker where he is being held by Jimmy Lee Dykes, the Associated Press reported.
The boy has Asperger’s syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a state representative said earlier this week.
Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson said that Dykes, 65, told police he has an electric heater and blankets in the underground bunker on his property in Midland City, Ala. Olson would not say whether Dykes has made any demands, according to the AP.
“I want to thank him for taking care of our child,” Olson said. “That’s very important.”
While little has changed in the standoff since Tuesday afternoon and authorities are keeping tight-lipped, former FBI hostage negotiator Clint Van Zandt said on the TODAY show that patience may pay off.
First picture emerges of man believed to have taken 5-year-old hostage in Alabama
“85 percent or more of standoff situations like this end nonviolently,” Van Zandt said on Saturday. Police have said that they are communicating with Dykes in the bunker through a PVC ventilation pipe.
“The reality is he hasn’t been hurt,” Van Zandt said of the young hostage. “Law enforcement doesn’t want to do anything precipitously that could cause anybody to be hurt at this time when the talking cure will likely work in this situation.”
A police source confirms to NBC News that this is the suspect, Jimmy Lee Dykes, 65.
Dykes’ neighbor Michael Creel told the AP that the man, who has been described as a paranoid Navy veteran, showed off the ventilation pipe after installing it about a year ago.
“He was bragging about it,” Creel told the AP. “He said, ‘Come check it out.’”
The first picture of Dykes emerged Friday. The man served just over four years in the Navy, a U.S. military official confirmed on Friday, and received several awards including a good conduct medal.
Meanwhile, the Dale County community mourned school bus driver Charles Albert Poland, Jr., 66, this weekend. Police say Poland was shot and killed while trying to stop the child from being taken off his bus on Tuesday.
Son says bus driver in Alabama hostage crisis gave life for ‘his children’
Aaron Poland, the son of the slain bus driver, told TODAY that his dad died a hero.
“Every time a child got on my dad’s bus, they were no longer their parents’, they were his. He considered them his children,” Poland said, his voice quavering with emotion. “I know that’s the reason why my dad took those shots, for his children, just like he would do for me and my sister.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Mourners lined up to pay their respects to bus driver Charles Poland, who died on the job last week, protecting the kids on his bus after it was boarded by Jimmy Lee Dykes. Dykes continues to hold Ethan, 5, hostage in an underground bunker after snatching him from the bus. NBC's Gabe Gutierrez reports.
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Now Now Leroy .... it's only their brains that are small. They have very big mouths and are huge arses.
DUDE... this ends with violent trauma to the cranial cavity for the perpetrator. Just a matter of time and whether the child lives or dies. Odds are favorable for the first scenario and now 20 to 1 against the kid.
The gun sure gives the man a lot of power. You just want to do something, anything and somebody tries to stop you and they think you're just a regular guy but - POW, POW, POW - and you just go about what you wanted to do in the first place. Or maybe you're at a meeting and things aren't going your way and nobody seems to want to listen to your side of the story - POW, POW, POW - and those guys on the winning side are gone and they didn't even have a clue what was coming. Remember the wild west when men settled their differences by murder? To the NRA: It's the guns stupid!
george
This 17 year old didn't use a gun. He just tossed his 9 year old neighbor of the roof of a 5 story apartment building.
BTW. The 17 year old has been arrested 4 times including robbery,assault and harassment.
How would a gun ban stop this criminal from killing someone?
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bronx/bronx-boy-9-thrown-building-roof-article-1.1253865
Hey - sounds like we need to ban 17year olds - hyuck, hyuck.
What an idiot.
If Lanza's old lady had only had 10-round magazines the principal and psychologist probably could have stopped him. If the cops hadn't let this nutcase loose after he shot at his neighbors, THIS wouldn't have happened. Not all cases can be stopped, but there are too many nutcases to let guns/ammo loose for everyone.
life has to be getting pretty Shjtty in this little box. I think cool heads and patience will win in the end.
He was once our hero, and after the war, he has been left alone. This time, when the veterans come back, take good care of them, from shelter, job, and counseling, to health care. Hope that there is a non-violent ending; no one gets hurt.
This guy knows he's going to be facing murder and kidnapping charges and he HATES the government. No way is he going to be taken alive. I could care less if he offs himself, I just hope the boy gets released first.
There is no hope for the child.....
Even if that were true what you posted was a terrible thing to say. There's still plenty of hope.
All I am saying is this....
If ONLY you MOTHER and family were aware that you were a sadistic bastard and a scorn on the family..... would you attempt events for national attention? Just wondering...... NO MANIFESTO..... NO MESSAGE FROM THE GRAVE.... TOTAL ANONYMITY... YOU JUST DIE.....
How can you NOT see that the media is fueling this need to be recognized? Do you have your head up your azz?
Seems like the negotiators and law enforcement are trying to praise him for not hurting the boy thus far and encouraging him to continue to provide basic care for the boy.
They have a really tough situation there - suspicion that the only entrance may be wired with explosives; a captor with extensive supplies who can stay in place for a long time; a highly restless child hostage; and a captor who has already taken a life and is volatile and paranoid. Very difficult situation. I hope they are able to bring this to a peaceful conclusion.
I guess when you put all that hard work into building a bunker, you want to use it for something!
Most of us are not experts in this area. So fo people to give advise as to what to do is very funny. Bottom line I am sure they are doing all they can to resolve this in a peaceful way.
Gee Sheriff, have you thank him for "taking care" of the bus driver?
From what I can see, the cops are doing the best they can in a bad situation. Thanking the bad guy may be a calculated part of the process - a message to the kidnapper based on whatever profile they have been able to develop. Rushing, gassing or other assault is probably a bad idea. Waiting and talking is usually the best way to resolve a situation like this, 80 percent of the time, even with nut cases.
what the he** is with these idiots and killing innocent kids i mean seriously its really screwed up
hey fox news this is what you CREATED WHEN GLENN BECK WAS THE TEACHER OF YOUR NEWS
lets start with mental people who hate the government...glenn beck .fox news who let him on air with his s-hit..yes fox news has a mental disorder...turn them off
Maybe you should start reading the LAWS that Obama has been making and instead of reading MAINSTREAM media you should check out some independent news sites so you can find out what's really going on instead of what THEY want you to know!
It always amazes me at the ignorance of people who don't know anything about the real news! I don't like Glenn Beck either but there are people like Peter Schiff, Ron Paul, Alan Keyes and others who won't lie to you and are saying things are bad! These same people are the ones who warned us years before the 2008 crash so I think we should listen to them! Obama has done nothing but ruin this country! print, print ,print more money and he gave it ALL to the people who got us in this mess! Look art Iceland...they bailed out the people and are now doing better than anyone else!
your right NRA..ist not the gun..its Fox news
To people who keep suggesting using gas - the Russians did this with the Chechen terrorists - it killed many hostages because smaller bodies die with the same dose that knocks out a larger adult.
Other thing is this guy is a Platinum Level Prepper and likely has a gas mask - he knows that jack-booted thugs would use gas when they try to pry his guns from his cold dead fingers.
You are correct; even our Alabama deputies know better than the Ruskies...
Someone let this guy loose with his guns after he shot at his neighbors - this person/people is/are responsible for the death of Charles Poland and this hostage situation.
As long as that child is sucking in air and blowing it out, he has a chance to make it through this. For all of the gung hoes out there who want to gas or kill the monster, remember HE has the kid. Talking him down is the only way for this child. If he was in there alone, simply drop a bomb down the vent pipe.
Looks like a typical tea bagger
"Looks like a typical tea bagger"
Never trust fox
Pump some sleeping gas in there and end this.
(Aerosol cocktail of general sedatives, incrementally increased till they no longer respond?) - RC
I'll bet dollars to doughnuts this guy holding the kid is a Wayne LaPierre believer and thinks Obama is coming to take his guns! Congradulations LaPiere mission accomplished every bat sh!t crazy with a gun and some bullets is beginning to act out because of you!! Sleep well LaPierre you worthless P.O.S.!