Alabama boy held hostage: Do you storm the bunker?
Sunday marked six days that a 5-year-old boy has been held in a bunker by a 65-year-old man and every day my husband wants to know why the SWAT team hasn’t stormed the bunker?
As a father it is making my husband crazy to watch this drama unfold and that little boy be left alone with this 65-year-old man who allegedly shot and killed the boy’s bus driver and then took him to an underground bunker on his rural Alabama property.
My husband just can’t understand why they haven’t gone in to get him, and I am wondering is that a common feeling among fathers?
My assumption is the police are talking with the man and feel like he must be taking OK care of the little boy. It’s my understanding he is accepting medicine for the little boy. I guess we don’t know if he’s really giving it to him or what else is happening in there.
I think the police are hoping to come to a peaceful agreement with the man to let the little guy out instead of risking the cops or the man shooting the little boy if they come in.
Here is some more information on the story from The Associated Press:
“…Authorities say Jim Lee Dykes, 65 — a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War known as Jimmy to neighbors — gunned down a school bus driver and then abducted a 5-year-old boy from the bus, taking him to an underground bunker on his rural property. The driver, 66-year-old Charles Albert Poland Jr., was to be buried Sunday.
Dykes, described as a loner who railed against the government, lives up a dirt road outside this tiny hamlet north of Dothan in the southeast corner of the state. His home is just off the main road north to the state capital of Montgomery, about 80 miles away.
The FBI said in a statement Sunday that authorities continue to have an open line of communication with Dykes and that they planned to deliver to the bunker additional comfort items such as food, toys and medicine. They also said Dykes was making the child as comfortable as possible…”
Besides allegedly shooting and killing the bus driver, here’s the scary part for me.
“…Neighbors described Dykes as a man who once beat a dog to death with a lead pipe, threatened to shoot children for setting foot on his property, and patrolled his yard at night with a flashlight and a firearm. Michael Creel said Dykes had an adult daughter, but the two lost touch years ago.”
Here’s why he has a bunker on his property:
“His property has a white trailer that, according to Creel, Dykes said he bought from FEMA after it was used to house evacuees from Hurricane Katrina. The property also has a steel shipping container — like those on container ships — in which Dykes stores tools and supplies.”
“Next to the container is the underground bunker where authorities say Dykes is holed up with the 5-year-old. Neighbors say the bunker has a pipe so Dykes could hear people coming near his driveway. Authorities have been using the ventilation pipe to communicate with him….
…Such bunkers are not uncommon in rural Alabama because of the threat of tornadoes.”
So what do you think: Are you wondering why they haven’t stormed the bunker while the man is sleeping? Is this a dad response or are moms feeling that way too? Do you think the police feel like the little fellow is not being harmed while being held? As a parent, what would you want the police to do?
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68 comments Add your comment
MomsRule
February 4th, 2013
12:34 pm
@oldpsychnurse, if what you say is true, why wouldn’t the authorities be employing such a tactic?
The entire situation is frustrating to say the least and my heart aches for the child and his family BUT I have to believe that the authorities on the scene are more knowledgeable about this situation than the average Joe. Not only are they trained and educated they also have more information at hand. Everyone else is just tossing out un-educated solutions based upon very small bits of information gathered from the news.
No matter what course they choose, if that boy is not recovered alive … the professionals working the case will be blamed and criticized for what they should have done differently.
MomsRule
February 4th, 2013
12:41 pm
OH, and don’t forget, there will be a group that goes nuts and criticizes law enforment IF they kill Dykes.
Sunny
February 4th, 2013
1:17 pm
I don’t understand why they can’t send a camera down the pipe (think of the camera’s used by plumblers when snaking a clogged drain) to see what’s going on and to get an angle on how to send a weapon down to subdue this nut. I’ll continue to pray that this ends well for the little fella. God knows he has suffered enough already.
jarvis
February 4th, 2013
1:34 pm
Sunny, he’s crazy not blind. I think he’d see a camera coming down.
thekimmer
February 4th, 2013
1:55 pm
Hey bubba you left out one itty bitty step in your plan.
>Do away with the entire United States Constitution
I have a easier solution for you though. Why don’t you move to greenland. Wouldn’t cost the US government a dime as folks would be clamoring to contribute to that cause. Oh, and for you to call anyone else a nut is the ultimate pot calling the kettle black.
oneofeach4me
February 4th, 2013
2:36 pm
“My question is WHY was he still armed if he shot at neighbors, killed someone’s dog and threatened other children. This is exactly the kind of person that we should take guns away from. I want to know if he was actually arrested for shooting at the neighbors.”
@homeschooler ~ that was my FIRST response when I heard about this. One of the problems is that when he beat one of his neighbor’s dog to near death (it died at the vet shortly after) the neighbor only complained to animal control authorities versus filing a criminal complaint. As for the incident where he shot at his neighbors, he WAS arrested for the incident and was actually due in court for an arraignment hearing on Wednesday, the day after he took the boy hostage. Unfortunately, he was only charged with Menacing which is a misdemeanor. In addition, right now there are no laws on the books that would have allowed police officers to remove all guns from his possession under those exact circumstances. They could have taken the firearm that he discharged during the incident for evidence, but unless they had a warrant to search the house and seize property they legally could not have asked him to turn over every gun he owns. This is one of the problem’s with current firearm legislation. Anyone that has displayed this type of behavior, especially behavior that seemed to escalate over a short amount of time has NO BUSINESS having access to firearms.
As to TWG’s question, I too am wondering how long this will drag on.. but I have to trust that those involved know what they are doing as they also know way more than we do.
flora68
February 4th, 2013
3:05 pm
Oldpsychnurse (obviously NOT an actual nurse or you’d know WAY about medical matters than you’ve demonstrated here…)
The vast difference in body weight between the two people in this bunker (I don’t know Ethan’s weight, but Dykes has almost 4 times the body mass of the average 5 year old) makes it impossible to safely titrate a dosage of Fentanyl or any other incapacitant that would quickly knock out one without totally suppressing the breathing of the smaller one. Ask any anesthesiologist. Or heck, any decent med student! It’s very basic physiology; the more profoundly sedating a substance is, the more it suppresses pulmonary function. Again, ask ANY anesthesiologist; that’s why they get the big bucks and have all that equipment and medication- it takes all that expertise to keep you and your brain alive while you’re too deeply unconscious to breathe for yourself.
True, with massive good luck the effect of the use of a substance like this MIGHT possibly be reversible, but only if (1) well-equipped medical help could be assured of immediate entry and (2) the subjects are of similar age and body mass with no medical issues, etc. Obviously nothing could be further from the truth in this case.
Seriously, do you REALLY think Dykes’ bunker doesn’t have ANY booby traps? That the authorities can just waltz on in?
Read “Medical Aspects of the Moscow Theater Hostage Incident”, or just the “Conclusions…” page at the end. I think you can still Google it. You’ll see that even if they’d had all the rescue equipment in place and in immediate use, such a plan could NEVER have been a safe option for persons with significantly smaller body mass than the captor; children were doomed by the Fentanyl, beyond rescue.Also, FYI, Fentanyl has a VERY strong smell; when they started pumping into that theater, there was panic, shooting,plenty of warning for a captor to shoot a little boy and then himself.
Carlos
February 4th, 2013
3:07 pm
Your husband watches too many movies. Just wait it out. Eventually fatigue and weariness will set in and the suspect will take his own life. He will not harm the boy unless he feels provoked.
Stan
February 4th, 2013
3:12 pm
Hope that man isn’t reading our suggestions…but here goes. Keep talking to him, and arrange for his mom to meet him on his birthday, only have a police woman go down there dressed up like his mother and take the old man out. 2nd option, put laughing gas in there, and the old man will think he is having fun when the sleeping gas comes in. Give the child oxygen immediately afterwards and he will rebound from this ordeal.
cathy
February 4th, 2013
3:24 pm
Any gas out in to subdue a grown man might be lethal to a small child. Any action to go in could get him killed in seconds. The boy is the mans meal ticket and protection. He knows the authorities are nit going to risk the child and will keep sending items down. We can just pray that the man finally sends him out. he’s not use to nor does he like children and that is scary. but hopefully he will finally send him out. that’s the only answer. Obviously the authorities can’t see a way in.
Jenni
February 4th, 2013
4:43 pm
Wow I can see it now all criminals taking to hiding in bunkers… Some say he had a letter that he wanted published… Publish it already.. We all know he’s nuts.. Oh but as the cops say he’s treating the boy really good… And were is the mom in all this.. Why is she not wanting to be seen.. I’d be begging at this point trying to touch any humanity in him… And no I don’t think we have any thing close to our best working this at this point this guy has all the cards .. What ever happen to being just plain smarter than the criminal
Mathew Thomas
February 4th, 2013
5:06 pm
They need to figure out how to get this kid away from this idiot. Then they need to take him out. There is no reason to keep this guy alive and have the tax payers in this country continue to feed him for the rest of his life. We need to bring back death penalty in all states in this country. I believe this would detour some of the low lives to commit such acts. Start setting an example of these guys so others dont think that it is ok.
Mathew Thomas
February 4th, 2013
5:09 pm
The media needs to quit making these people heros to other idiots. The media basically runs our country. From picking what we view and how often, to electing our officials. The only people running for office that you ever hear anything about is the ones that the media like. I cant believe that I am the only one tired of this.
justmy2cents
February 4th, 2013
5:19 pm
Doesn’t matter now- the kid is free and the guy is dead- win win situation!
Markus
February 4th, 2013
5:29 pm
There’s an indeterminate quantity of weapons and ammunition situated within the bunker with him. He’s because of the gun control movement a poster boy to aid background inspections along with a national registry of weapons.
Theresa Walsh Giarrusso
February 4th, 2013
5:31 pm
The boy is free — the man is dead — read the update — waiting for press conference to find out how it all went down —
http://www.ajc.com/ap/ap/crime/alabama-town-prays-for-gunman-to-release-5-yr-old/nWFJN/
?????
February 5th, 2013
1:35 am
he is free now
?????
February 5th, 2013
1:36 am
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!