It's now been more than 30 hours since police began negotiating with Jimmy Lee Dykes, the 65-year-old "anti-government" "doomsday prepper" who allegedly shot and killed and a school bus driver before retreating with a six-year-old hostage to an underground bunker on his Alabama property. Authorities say the boy, who remains unidentified, is okay — he's been given medicine and a coloring book and crayons — but the situation is "static" and the endgame is unclear.
Worse, since Dykes is a survivalist, his bunker is well-stocked with food and other necessary items. He had a reputation among his neighbors as "standoffish" :
A clearer picture of the man at the center of the standoff is also starting to come into focus. Neighbors described Dykes as being "anti-government" and "a long time concern" and expressed no surprise that he could be involved in such a situation with law enforcement.
Court records show that Dykes was supposed to be in court Wednesday morning to face menacing charges. Being holed up in a bunker, he never made it to the courthouse.
The bus driver he allegedly killed, Charles Albert Poland, was shot three or four times, apparently after attempting to block Dykes from taking his hostage.
[WSFA]