The standoff that began Tuesday between FBI authorities and the 65-year old truck driver in Alabama who held a 5 year-old boy hostage is finally over, reports CNN. Reports confirm that Jimmy Lee Dykes was killed this afternoon by law enforcement officials.
The boy appeared to be okay and was taken to a nearby hospital, Alabama State Rep. Steve Clouse told CNN. A neighbor who owns a home nearby to Dykes' bunker where the boy was being held reported that he was outside and heard a loud explosion. "I head a big boom and then ... I believe I heard rifle shots," said Bryon Martin, a loud noise that "made me jump off the ground," he said.
Monday was the sixth day of the standoff and hostage negotiators maintained communication with Dykes while he held the boy in a homemade bunker. Through the use of a ventilation pipe, authorities communicated with Dykes and supplied the young boy who they called "Ethan" with food and toys.
The boy was abducted from his school bus last Tuesday after Dykes had gunned down the driver, 66-year-old Charles Poland, Jr., who was laid to rest on Sunday. Tarrica Singletary told ABC News her account of what happened that Tuesday afternoon when Ethan was abducted. "He said he was going to kill us, going to kill us all," she said. "The bus driver kept saying, 'Just please get off the bus,' and [Dykes] said, 'Ah, all right, I'll get off the bus.'"According to the young girl, the driver "tried to back up and reverse and [Dykes] pulled out the gun and he just shot him, and he just took Ethan."
Dykes is described as a loner and a member of the military who served from 1964 to 1969 as an aviation maintenance administration man, according to Naval records. Neighbors and government officials describe him as "anti-government" and would often go on rants about the government. "Based on our discussions with Mr. Dykes, he feels like he has a story that's important to him, although it's very complex," said Dale County Sherriff Wally Olson on Monday.
