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Subscribe to RSSHarri Anne Smith, a state senator in Alabama, has been in close contact with five-year-old Ethan's family since he was taken hostage last week. She said there are "lots of smiles" now that he's been freed and former FBI hostage negotiator Clint Van Zandt discusses the details of the case.
An Alabama boy is set for the "greatest" birthday of his life after being freed from a week's captivity in an underground bunker, a pastor said Tuesday.
The boy, snatched from a school bus in a fatal shooting, was rescued after a daring raid by FBI agents that left his kidnapper, Jimmy Lee Dykes, dead.
The 5-year-old, who is recovering in hospital, turns 6 on Wednesday.
“I would image it’s going to be the greatest birthday that family and that little boy has ever experienced and probably will ever experience,” local pastor Michael Senn told TODAY.
The boy was reunited with his mother and is "laughing, joking, playing, eating," said Special Agent in Charge Stephen Richardson at a press briefing Monday.
"He's very brave, he's very lucky. His success story is that he got out and he's doing great."
Richardson said the operation began when Dykes was seen holding a gun. "At this point, FBI agents, fearing the child was in imminent danger, entered the bunker and rescued the child.”
The Dothan Eagle newspaper reported that two loud blasts came from the scene shortly before 3:30 p.m. According to the report, an ambulance then drove up the private dirt road where Dykes’ homes is located and then left a short time later.
The blast apparently came from a "diversionary device," an FBI source confirmed to NBC News. FBI officers had lowered a camera into the bunker -- they would not reveal how, saying they may want to use the method in the future -- which allowed them to determine when to throw in the flash-bang to distract Dykes.That's when they entered through a door at the top of the bunker.
At the Monday night press briefing, Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson said that Dykes, 65, was harmed when officers entered the bunker but he would not say how the captor died. A law enforcement official told NBC News they are waiting for the medical examiner's report to determine how he died.
Related: Official says boy is his 'lovely' self after rescue
The ordeal began at 3:30 p.m. CT last Tuesday when Dykes -- described by his neighbors as a paranoid survivalist -- grabbed the boy from a school bus in Midland City, Ala.
Dykes boarded the bus and demanded that the bus driver, Charles Poland, 66, turn over two young children. When Poland refused, Dykes fatally shot him and took the boy.
Dykes, a decorated Vietnam veteran, took Ethan to an underground bunker that neighbors had seen him digging. The bunker is believed to be roughly 8 feet by 6 feet and to be stocked with supplies. The bunker has a ventilation pipe that authorities used to deliver items. Authorities have not said how long they believe Dykes could have lasted underground, or discussed a motive for the kidnapping.
After a six-day standoff, a federal hostage team stormed an underground bunker in Alabama, where Jimmy Lee Dykes, 65, was holding five-year-old Ethan hostage. Ethan was freed safely, while Dykes was found dead. NBC's Gabe Gutierrez reports, and Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson and former FBI hostage negotiator Clint van Zandt discuss the case.
Over the last week, hostage negotiators delivered a red Hot Wheels car, Cheez-Its crackers and other food and medicine to the boy, who has a mild form of autism. The FBI said Sunday that the boy’s captor “continues to make the environment as comfortable as possible for the child.”
The boy has Asperger’s syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a state representative said last week.
Law enforcement officials remained largely mum about the details of the case, possibly because it was believed that Dykes kept a television set in the bunker. Early on in the negotiations, they moved reporters farther from the scene. Throughout the week, they canceled press conferences, saying that nothing had changed.
Many of the law enforcement press conferences appeared to have been directed more at Dykes than at reporters. Sheriff Olson went so far as to thank Dykes “for taking care of our child.”
“That’s very important,” Olson said.
Before the standoff ended on Monday, Olson told reporters that Dykes "feels like he has a story that’s important to him. ... Although it’s very complex, we’re trying to make a safe environment.”
At the Monday night press briefing, Olson would not say what that story was, repeating that the investigation was ongoing and that the crime scene still needed to be processed. But he was passionate -- and willing to discuss -- Ethan.
"This boy is a very special child. He's been through and endured a lot and by the grace of God, he's OK," Olson said. "That was the mission of every man and woman on this compound. Of every law enforcement officer, every first responder, and all of the community who prayed to bring him home safely."
Former FBI hostage negotiator Clint Van Zandt said on the TODAY show that patience is key in hostage situations.
“Eighty-five percent or more of standoff situations like this end nonviolently,” Van Zandt said on Saturday. “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.”
Following the end of the hostage situation, Alabama Gov. Robert J. Bentley released a statement, hailing the efforts to save the boy but mourning the death of the bus driver:
"I am thankful that the child who was abducted is now safe. I am so happy this little boy can now be reunited with his family and friends. We will all continue to pray for the little boy and his family as they recover from the trauma of the last several days."
President Barack Obama also weighed in, calling FBI Director Robert Mueller to compliment his officers.
NBC's Gabe Gutierrez, Erin McClam, Matthew DeLuca, Jeff Black and Pete Williams contributed reporting.
Related:
Son says bus driver in Alabama hostage crisis gave life for 'his children'
Sheriff to Alabama hostage-taker: 'I want to thank him for taking care of our child'
Leave a Comment:
I'm so thankful the child is OK and the whole situation is over.
It's far from over...
Yeah, thanks a pant load, god, for killing an innocent bus driver and giving a bunch of children scars for life. Well done.
mmcleodmn---God gives us free will, and its up to us to decide what we want to do. It was not up to God and it wasn't God who did this deed. The kidnapper choose his path all his life, he made the choice to to do this terrible thing, not God. The part that God played in this kidnapping was to send his angel to comfort the child and by the love and the grace and the will of God he came out, alive. nothing else to say on the subject.
i'm glad the child is safe, perp brought it on himself, he got as much as he gave.......
Yep God is so great, LMAO
KLYAO
Funny, some of you guys accuse Christians of thanking God for all the good but not for any bad things, yet you are quick to blame God for every bad thing that happens but never give him any credit for anything good. Which do you think is more logical?
Yeah,,,
And all the retribution posted here explains nothing as to why it happened, or how to keep it from happening again.
All I hear is kill the criminal after the crime happened.
I guess we will have a hell of a lot of other crimes to talk about, and a hell of a lot of other people to kill...
I am so glad the boy got out safely. That old psycho should have been locked up a while ago. This is a failure of the mental health system. And if he was a veteran then why was he not being helped by the Veteran's Administration. They should have noted his mental deficiencies. We never did anything to help the veterans returning from Vietnam. We just put them out on the street. My father and my uncles all suffered severe mental problems after returning from Vietnam and my father spent time in the VA and mental hospitals. We send our sons, fathers, and brothers to endless wars to support our corrupt system. We then throw them out after they return with violent tendencies. Put blame where blame is due, not on guns but on the failed VA and mental health systems.
It would appear that the closest he got to Vietnam was the Naval Air Facility Atsugi in Japan.
There he may have worked,or at least his unit (he appears to have had an administrative job
classification), on aircraft that were in Vietnam and transported to his base.
This would not appear to be a case of PTSD....at least not caused by his service.
As to medals that he received:
Navy Unit Commendation.............indicates that his unit did good work in their mission.
Meritorious Unit Commendation....same as above....his unit...perhaps not him personally
.
Good Conduct Medal............indicates that he didn't get in too much trouble while he served.
National Defense Service Medal.....all that served in military at that time received this.
Vietnam Service Medal.....was also given to individuals that served within certain areas outside VN.
Does not fit the bill for a "highly decorated " veteran.
I served in Vietnam and one of my duties was to refer
individuals for the type of awards mentioned.
I just thank God that this is over. I have been praying for this child's parents, their worst fear is over. Now they just need to make him feel safe again. I think the press should LEAVE THEM ALONE.
Have a good night world. I'm outta here for now>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
So the show goes on; when and where is the next performance? All these
fraud ops are the fairy tales the 1% economic elite zion-israeli new world order
elders will tell and tell again: how they fooled all the people of Earth and
wrested control of all governments, thereby establishing their Godless realm; the
part they fail to mention is how they all enter eternal Hell upon leaving this life.
They should have shot the idiot the first day. Give the guy three warnings and if he doesnt comply, shoot him. That is how it should be nationally, bet there would be a lot less kidnappers or barricaded subjects.
Hats Off to everyone who had a part in the safe rescue! And A Very Special Thank You to those who unselfishly put their own lives at risk to save this Little Man!
Note to all you "survivalists" LOL, you don't stand a chance. I do wish they would quit calling this Dyke dude a "decorated Vietnam veteran", he was neither decorated (he got a service medal) and he never set foot on shore from what I have seen.
It would appear that the closest he got to Vietnam was the Naval Air Facility Atsugi in Japan.
There he may have worked,or at least his unit (he appears to have had an administrative job
classification), on aircraft that were in Vietnam and transported to his base.
This would not appear to be a case of PTSD....at least not caused by his service.
As to medals that he received:
Navy Unit Commendation.............indicates that his unit did good work in their mission.
Meritorious Unit Commendation....same as above....his unit...perhaps not him personally
.
Good Conduct Medal............indicates that he didn't get in too much trouble while he served.
National Defense Service Medal.....all that served in military at that time received this.
Vietnam Service Medal.....was also given to individuals that served within certain areas outside VN.
Does not fit the bill for a "highly decorated " veteran.
I served in Vietnam and one of my duties was to refer
individuals for the type of awards mentioned.
Most of you posting on here are a bunch of chicken @!$%#s . The guy from what was reported was nuts as a result of serving in Nam . Accordingly most of you are proud you saved a dollar by his death . Next time serve in your own war and see if you can handle the unnatural acts your asked to do . Had he not served your ungrateful asses he would still be alive . Now you got a cop with blood on his hands and if he cracks shoot him and call him the evil dog . hypocrites .
I also know and worked with a lot of Vietnam Vets who don't go shooting and kidnapping people. As a war veteran myself, I can tell you that his behavior is probably fuelled by more than just PTSD, this man has other issues with society general- I know people like him and they haven't served a day on active duty for this country and they hate the world. The man had radical views on how he saw things- you nor I know if he was messed up prior to serving in Vietnam. Who proved that his craziness was a result of being a war veteran? A psychiatrist or some ignorant person who assumed this was the case? Let this be a warning to all the other crazies out there, you act a fool and you will face the consequences- veteran or not, sane or insane...
Do they train you to shoot guns at people shaped silhouettes for a reason ? Did he learn to make a bunker in high school . Your lame as you patriotism . You should heed Ron Kovic . Stop playing the we all got it coming if we fall out of line card too . No one , be it bus driver , child , or mad man deserves judgement without compassion .
It would appear that the closest he got to Vietnam was the Naval Air Facility Atsugi in Japan.
There he may have worked,or at least his unit (he appears to have had an administrative job
classification), on aircraft that were in Vietnam and transported to his base.
This would not appear to be a case of PTSD....at least not caused by his service.
As to medals that he received:
Navy Unit Commendation.............indicates that his unit did good work in their mission.
Meritorious Unit Commendation....same as above....his unit...perhaps not him personally
.
Good Conduct Medal............indicates that he didn't get in too much trouble while he served.
National Defense Service Medal.....all that served in military at that time received this.
Vietnam Service Medal.....was also given to individuals that served within certain areas outside VN.
Does not fit the bill for a "highly decorated " veteran.
I served in Vietnam and one of my duties was to refer
individuals for the type of awards mentioned.
Great work and thank you law enforcement officials! This is a wakeup call to all of America, RED STATES and BLUE STATES. In fact, erase that RED and that BLUE, we are all STATES of the USA! We need to care and help each other, nobody including the richest survive and thrive on their own!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We must assess reality, unfortunately if we want our total American freedom we must accept that anyone can get about any weapon other than advanced military ones and do any crazy inhumane act at any time. Is this not the time to help all of our brothers and sisters get mental and physical healthiness? I think the highest honor and achievement for mankind is to pursue helping each other to stop this mental illness until it is non-existent or as close to that as possible. Ignoring it is both inhumane and destructive to peaceful society. We need to look the poor and desparate and unbalanced in the eye and show them we can help, they have a way out of their problems.
Can't score political points or demonize your political enemies over the mental health issue, regardless of your spot on post. Addressing the mental health issues in this country would take some real work, not campaign speeches and vitriolic rants, which is all we're getting. A man shot 20 children, multiple times, and people think we have a gun problem in this country.
Let's face it, we are the most diverse country by a long shot, and all of us (other than native Indians probably) benefit from our ancestors from all over the world coming here to merge into a great nation that the rest of the world now looks at as a leader in freedom, therefore we need to live up to our reputation and image. That means to me that we need to reach out and help all of our fellow human beings here. Our parents and ancestors paid a great price in fighting world wars and working their behinds off for last few centuries, and I think they did that with an intent to make this country what they dreamed it should be when they left their old countries, a place for hope and care for everyone. Here is a testament I have made to few folks: As a MS degreed safety professional with two international respected professional cetifications and 30 years of experience, I can say it is time the world spends as much time and resources on mental health issues as environmental health and safety issues, more lives are probably lost and destroyed by mental health and social issues as are by pollution and unsafe workplaces.
Or perhaps we could just avoid getting involved in wars.....that would save a lot of money that could be used for mental health care.
Only if the kid had a gun for self defense. We need gun dispensing machines in elementary schools.
This loon believed that the government would shock the dogs running at the dog tracks if they weren't supposed to win! Obviously the mafia is in charge of the dog tracks and they take their orders from The Vatican. You can't look at people and try to guess if their normal.
I meant "..if they're normal" shiver,
Jimmy Lee Dykes, aka Beau Dyke, right wing republican tea party member says, "Before I let the government get my gun, they'll have to pry it from my cold, dead fingers." When reached for comment Karl Rove added, " Now were going to have to look for someone else to run in 2016. Perhaps Sharon Angle would like to be our first woman president? Our polling statistics show her approval ratings are higher than Hillary Clinton's."
If the wackos keep it up, time to let them secede, the west coast join Canada and the east coast with a few in the Great Lakes area, a new country looking like a big M in shape, with the far right bible beaters in the south and midwest starting their new far right utopia. I have talked to many folks and they say they don't want the south/midwest bible belt states to control their social lives. They don't like a little socializing like Canada/Europe style, let them be the only country to have a class/caste system with the whites on the top above all the other folks. Then all the non-whites will leave the far right utopia and nobody will do the hard work there anymore...they will become a mighty whitey and honky mecca.
Maybe they were able to lower a fiber optic camera with a shooting device attached to it.
Thank you to those responders. The child is safe.
Absolutely positve you can't call everyone who lives in the country with a garden a survivalist.
Good grief, if they don't have facts, they just slap them on, make it up.
The "survivalist" comments seemed to be coming from some of his neighbors. Perhaps they had observed other actions by him that lead to that label. At one time I lived in the country with a garden....and firearms.
Proves once again that the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.
Just because the NRA says it does not make it true.
Since , there is zero way to determine how many bad guys there are with guns.
How can you possibly know exactly who is bad and who is good ?
I can say I am a multi-millionaire. That would be a flat out lie.
I always had to work for a living, never took a dime from the government and never filed for bankruptcy. What a dumb chit I am. If I used loopholes I could have lived high on the hog.
Amazing how two of the biggest fools in America are old men that love to Tweet.
I thought that was for teenage girls OMG.
This was going to end one of two ways. I am glad he still had enough of a conscience
left not to kill the kid. Why do children always seem to get the short end of the stick ?
What the hell did they do besides being children ?
I'm just glad the little boy is ok, i feel sorry for the old man , because he must have had mental problems to do what he did, not trying to make excuses, i'm just saying.
it's a sad situation, but thankfully it's over and the boy is safe, but he will never forget this, which is very sad
I'm sure the guy had some reason as they even said he had a store to tell that he believed needed to be told. But because he took lives. They can not let his story be told. If they let his story out now. People may try to use the same way to push their story to the top. We can't let that happen. I'm glad they got the young boy out. I hope he can get past this and enjoy his life. I'm also sorry to see the old man die. I can't and won't judge their actions. I'm sure they did what they had too. But I feel to truly get closure here we need to find the reasons that it happen and investigate how to stop it from happening again. Killing never solves the real problem. In the last few years the crazies have really came out. Do we just kill everyone or can we find out what made them all snap?
I would just like to add that they stated they do not know his cause of death. To me and any other skeptical person put there can probably conclude law enforcement simply took it upon themselves to execute him purposely for the damage he has already done , and then make it seem as if he was a threat and had to defend themselves.... This is just my view not saying that is true .
Washigton, I am Liberal, and I say "Job Well Done" to law enforcement even if that shot his rotten azz on purpose. When a person uses children as shields, they should not be afforded any forms of courtesy. IMO, they should have blown his head off.
TruthYes... TrueThat!
The government "took it upon themselves" to kill him? Really? The guy who shot an unarmed bus driver in front of a busload of school kids? The guy who was holding a five year old hostage underground? A guy with a gun in his hands? No reason? What "reason" did this nutcase give police to believe that he wouldn't blow away a 5 year old boy and then kill himself?
Good job to all involved. No tears for the lunatic.
finally a job well done
good job FBI