The standoff between an Alabama gunman and law enforcement has entered its third day, and the fate of a 5-year-old boy, abducted from his school bus at gunpoint and subsequently hidden in an underground bunker, is still largely unknown.
Tuesday, 65-year-old Jimmy Lee Dykes, a Vietnam veteran and retired truck driver, allegedly stormed a crowded bus parked nearby a church and demanded the driver hand over a child, according to CNN, which specified the suspect’s name comes from neighbors, not police. The driver refused, and Mr. Dykes allegedly shot and killed him. The suspect grabbed the 6-year-old boy as the other 21 children fled, according to CNN.
Since, the boy has been held hostage in an underground bunker and has had medicine he’s required to take daily thrown into the hole.
CNN reports that Mr. Dyke’s neighbors saw him on occasion digging a hole on his property in the early morning hours, between 2 and 3 a.m. Mr. Dykes reportedly said the hole was a storm shelter, CNN said.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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