Alabama Standoff Update: Hostage situation ends, 5-year-old boy is safe, kidnapper dead, U.S. official says

By: Crimesider Staff
Topics: Daily Blotter

Jimmy Lee Dykes

/ Alabama Department of Public Safety

(CBS/AP) MIDLAND CITY, Ala. - A U.S. official tells CBS News that a nearly week-long hostage standoff in which a 5-year-old was being held captive in southeast Alabama has ended in the kidnapper's death. The child is said to be okay.

Authorities said 65-year-old Jimmy Dykes gunned down a school bus driver Tuesday and abducted a 5-year-old boy from the bus before taking him to an underground bunker on his rural property. The driver, 66-year-old Charles Poland Jr., was buried Sunday.

Dykes, a decorated Vietnam-era veteran described as a loner who railed against the government, lived up a dirt road just off the main road north to the state capital of Montgomery, about 80 miles away.

CBS radio affiliate WSB says reporters heard what may have been a concussion grenade before ambulance and fire vehicles went to and from Dykes' property about 4p.m. Eastern Time Monday.

Complete coverage of the Alabama standoff on Crimesider

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by Uneed2BWeened February 5, 2013 9:16 AM EST

So why did he shoot the bus driver? I keep missing that part.

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by signseeker1717 February 5, 2013 10:12 AM EST: ***** initially wanted to take TWO boys; the driver resisted, and was killed. Some are calling the driver a hero for trying to protect the children; I concur.


by pegasus1945 February 4, 2013 6:14 PM EST: I hope the dog he beat to death with a pipe gets a hold of him on his way to hell and tears the hell out of him, he deserves it.; Reply to this comment

by chonder2 February 4, 2013 6:01 PM EST

Unfortunately at 3 pm this afternoon Faithful NRA member Jimmy Joebob Bubba ***** was killed by government authorities in Alabama.
We hold responsible, deceased school bus driver Charles Poland Jr who apparently did not do enough to protect his bus.Mr Poland should have been carrying a side arm with hundreds of rounds in preloaded clips after of course arming all the five and six year old bus students wih side arms.
This incompetance cannot go on.All of you have to call for more and more and more and more guns.
Being a patriot American, Jimmy Joebob ***** mental capacity cannot ever be questioned.
Remember more and more and more guns are the answer.....NOT MENTAL BACKGROUND CHECKS!!!

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by corbolavirus February 5, 2013 12:01 AM EST: There are crazy people in all walks of life in all regions of the country- it's the USA afterall. You however, are a generalizing twit.


by signseeker1717 February 5, 2013 10:25 AM EST: "more and more and more and more guns" are the answer to too many guns ALREADY? That's like saying the cure for disease is more disease.

And only a mental case himself would have a problem with mental checks.

by Maerzie February 4, 2013 6:00 PM EST

The VietNam war is responsible for so much mental illness. What have we learned from that insane war and all the lies we were told about the "successes" they were experiencing. Did ANY combat personnel come back sane? I have never met one that wasn't mentally ruined. How much help did our government give these mentally ill soldiers? They didn't get much of anything besides rebuffed! I think the handling of that war, and its damage to humans on BOTH sides, is the worst, most shameful sin our government has ever committed! Thank God the little boy is safe. Thanks also to the communicators, who kept the damaged hermit from physically harming the child. That skill is a gift in itself.

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by signseeker1717 February 5, 2013 10:31 AM EST: Of course the whole situation was monstrous, which is why steps have been taken to never let it happen again.

But there are thousands of vets who DO lead normal lives. Perhaps the reason you THINK you've never met one who isn't "mentally ruined" is because the ones who ARE doing fine fit in like everyone else, and you'd never know they were there at all unless they TOLD you.


by misands February 4, 2013 5:55 PM EST: Thank goodness! I hope the little boy gets a first-class trip to Disney World after going through such a nightmarish ordeal.; Reply to this comment

by Swingmanic February 4, 2013 5:51 PM EST

What makes a decorated Vietnam-era veteran do this?..Did he have post traumatic stress disorder?..You know, what gets me is that comments here show how desensitised people are to death!..You talk about death like you're blowing out a candle!!..I'm not saying this guy was a good guy, but I wonder what triggers episodes like this?

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by Maerzie February 4, 2013 6:08 PM EST: Which VietNam combat veteran have you EVER met who DIDN'T have PTSD? It was an insane war, with no history of any other similar insanity to have learned from!


by djseavy February 4, 2013 6:17 PM EST: That's because many of these comments come from people who've never had to deal with the aftermath of something like Vietnam. It's easy to sit at a screen and make hard-hearted comments, and if their lives have been that insulated from the reality of Nam and other personality-changing events, then they have no idea what they're saying. I in no way defend, condone, or advocate *****' actions. It's vitally important though, to look at the whole picture so those involved can understand what went wrong. They deserve at least that much. And swingmanic is right. Our society has become so desensatized that people often think it's comical to post such remarks. Two people lost their lives here. Both were heros, but unfortunately one of those men was destroyed in his late teens/early 20's after his heroic efforts in Nam. A 5 year-old will never be the same. There is nothing comical about it, nor does the situation deserve snide and heartless comments.


by democracy8 February 4, 2013 5:46 PM EST: THANK GOD!!!; Reply to this comment

by wmjns February 4, 2013 5:35 PM EST

Why should he have been arrested? I am glad he is dead! American tax payers should not have to pay to feed and house a sick murderer like him! If capital punishment was reinstated in this country we would be much better off!

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by TDSapp February 4, 2013 6:06 PM EST: So where have you been for the last 37 years? Capital punishment was reinstated back in 1976. Since then, most states have been executing criminals on a regular basis.


by worp00 February 6, 2013 12:37 PM EST: AMEN! AMEN! AND AMEN!

by sinklizzy February 4, 2013 5:31 PM EST

It's about time that this situation ended. Thoughts and prayers to the child's family for the scarring time the boy had. PTSD will continue to hurt the nation until more resources are dedicated to those that need help.

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by Jonseen February 4, 2013 5:52 PM EST: I'm not willing to attribute PTSD alone to what happened here. This man was just plain MEAN, ornery and ugly to anybody that lived around him. I read in another article that the bus driver had recently given ***** a gift of eggs and marmalade. Didn't say why, but Mr. Poland had reached out in friendship. So this is the thanks he got for being nice. Seems to me that Mr. ***** had gone past the point of no return, in my opinion. Kindness and decency didn't seem to touch him. So what can anybody do that would have cured him? We do make our own choices, even when we're living with baggage. And this guy made some horrendous choices.


by Jonseen February 4, 2013 6:00 PM EST: Apparently Mr. Ugly's real name is automatically bleeped by the system. I didn't say anything worth bleeping.


by Maerzie February 4, 2013 6:45 PM EST: Exactly WHICH symptoms of PTSD WOULD you know about, Dr. "Jonseen" Psychiatrist? Exactly what makes a person mean and ugly? Obviously the guy was mentally ill, though he was sane enough during his military career to achieve several honors! Do you suppose he CHOSE to be mean and ugly?

by bluejacket2-2009 February 4, 2013 5:29 PM EST

I'm happy the boy is safe.... I'm surpised those Alabama bus drivers don't have AR-15's in their busses... If guns stop bad guys we better start arming every school bus driver with an assult rifle in the USA..

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by thechooch1 February 4, 2013 5:44 PM EST: bluejacket2-2009 that won't be enough, what happens if the bad guy takes out the bus driver? Remember the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun, so let's also arm the children so they can return fire.


by signseeker1717 February 5, 2013 10:36 AM EST: And yet an ex-SEAL sniper was murdered this week - on a FIRING RANGE. All the skill and training in the world, all the guns he was surrounded with, did NOT save him.

Do you think a bus driver would be any more qualified and better prepared than THAT?

Don't you get it?