MIDLAND CITY, Ala. (TheBlaze/AP) — A man who fatally shot the driver of a school bus in Alabama and fled with a 6-year-old child passenger has prompted an hours-long standoff with police that remained unresolved Wednesday, authorities and reports said.
The Dale County Sheriff told WBMA-TV that the man shot the driver in Midland City on Tuesday afternoon when he refused to let the child off the bus. The driver later died of his wounds. His name wasn’t released by police following the tragic incident. The Dothan Eagle is now reporting that the shooter has been identified as 67-year-old Jimmy Lee Dykes.
The shooter took the child to an area behind a nearby church, and police were negotiating with him for hours, authorities said.
WSFA-TV reported early Wednesday that Alabama State troopers, a SWAT team and FBI agents had converged nearby.
Midland City police would not comment, and a dispatcher at the Dale City Sheriff’s office told The Associated Press early Wednesday that the agency was not releasing any immediate details. However, details have begun to leak as the situation progresses.
ABC 33/40 – Birmingham News, Weather, Sports
Fox News has more about the standoff as of Wednesday morning:
The boy was last seen with the suspect and local reports say it is unclear if the boy is still with the suspect. Police would not immediately confirm a hostage situation, DothanEagle.com reported.
Police with SWAT teams and negotiators were at the rural property in Alabama where the suspect was believed to be holed up in a bunker after fatally shooting the driver of a school bus and fleeing with the boy. Residents in the surrounding area were evacuated and a bomb squad was at the scene, the WSFA.com reported.
Authorities have been in contact with the suspect and the boy is believed to be OK, WSFA said. The situation is considered delicate.
Police from multiple agencies were on the scene and nearby residents were evacuated from their homes as a precautionary measure, said Rachel David, a spokeswoman for the police department in the nearby town of Dothan.
“Authorities also confirmed the presence of a child at the scene but are giving no further information at this time,” David said in a news release late Tuesday.






















































































































Tim the Libertarian
Jan. 31, 2013 at 6:13pmI just wanted to share a short video about the bus driver who is a hero in our area for giving his life to try and protect our kids, please say a prayer for him and his family. Thanks.
http://dothanfirst.com/fulltext?nxd_id=254112
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jmc610
Jan. 31, 2013 at 8:09amWhy is this not getting the media attention it deserves… Could it be because the perp in NOT WHITE…
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RayOne
Feb. 1, 2013 at 9:22pmSplit screen with Larry H.
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******
Jan. 30, 2013 at 11:28pmNow if this would have happened in NYC the gunman would have been pummeled repeatedly around the head and shoulders with 8oz bottle’s of ice cold water……….for the childrens safety of course. Shyt, I forgot the carrots.
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BoyScout_Mom
Jan. 30, 2013 at 7:53pmThey need to immediately go in and get this child. Do not wait. There is no other choice here.
Holy God, set him free now, by Your Power. Amen
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LeadNotFollow
Jan. 30, 2013 at 5:55pmIf schools refuse to put a security guard on every bus, then home school your kids.
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LeadNotFollow
Jan. 30, 2013 at 5:54pmOnly a subhuman heathen would murder a person in cold blood, and kidnap a child to use as a human shield.
This man is going to burn in the worst part of H*LL.
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BacktotheFounders
Jan. 30, 2013 at 5:18pmThis is a link to WSFA in Montgomery, AL.
http://www.wsfa.com/story/20791656/alleged-gunman-in-school-bus-shooting-identified
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founderschild
Jan. 30, 2013 at 2:25pmVery little info coming out since the FBI took charge. I can’t see why the public can’t be brought up to date on the situation. People are very concerned about the child. Also, the weather is deteriorating quickly in this area.
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Trez
Jan. 30, 2013 at 2:22pmThe only thing i can think of to help prevent anything of this nature from happening is American citizens need to be armed at all times.
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RayOne
Jan. 30, 2013 at 12:37pmBig Sis and HomelandSecurity will be issuing a statement soon. Homeschool education in community collectives with international testing supervised by the International Baccalaureate Program administered in London, may be a solution.
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thegreatcarnac
Jan. 30, 2013 at 12:01pmFool. What is he thinking?
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RamonPreston
Jan. 30, 2013 at 9:54amSure glad I grew up in an era when the world was relatively safe. All we had to worry about was the Russians. Now every week you read about some crazy American.
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lqtm
Jan. 30, 2013 at 10:57amI’m sure the media’s exponential increase in coverage capacity had nothing to do with it.
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South Philly Boy
Jan. 30, 2013 at 9:48amThis guy watched Dirty Harry too many times
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Thundergod
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:34amDoes the link to the newspaper work for anyone else? I find it curious. either the link doesnt work or the newspaper yanked the story already. maybe they havent invented all the facts yet. Strange we seem to always have a shooting on the same exact day that lawmakers go to the Hill to debate gun control measures. or at least it seems the media finds a shooting to hype before the facts are known,and are slow to release those facts.
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Dagnabbit5
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:55amThe wbma tv and fox news links work for me but he Dothan link doesn’t.
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s0ck_monkey
Jan. 30, 2013 at 9:04amLocal news radio just said that the police have been communicating with child through a piece of PVC pipe. Also the child he abducted is autistic and has to take meds, and that he has been receiving his meds since this happened.
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Trigus
Jan. 30, 2013 at 9:42amThe alleged gunman boarded the bus and handed the driver a note, she said.
“And then I don’t know what happened after that but he started telling them he needed a kid because of the law coming after him,” she said.
“GUN FREE ZONES” = easy target of opportunity – Schools and School Buses are the only”Gun Free Zones.” Now if some criminal, or mentally impaired person can figure out easy targets – do you not believe that the 30 thousand plus Hezbollah Terrorist inside the United States has figured this out to?
Dykes was scheduled to be in court today for a trial related to charges of menacing, according to court records obtained by WDNH.
The suspected gunman is identified as Jimmy Lee Dykes, a 60-something military veteran, a police source told ABC News. Dykes and the child are in an underground bunker behind his home.
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Dagnabbit5
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:34amWhy is it when a crime happens in the south or in the country they us the middle name but if its the north or a city they don’t? Does anyone know Adam Lanza’s or James Holmes middle name?
Kind of skimpy on details. Looks like a custody battle gone wrong. Can’t see a pedophile taking a child in such a high profile way.
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lqtm
Jan. 30, 2013 at 10:58amDude it’s part of a huge conspiracy.
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bamanana
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:30amThis proves more than ever that our children & staff have got to be “armed” @ schools & our buses! Now if he had tried to have taken Mama Bloomberg he would have been met with a hail of gunfire of course more than 7 rounds!
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RJJinGadsden
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:24amYet again, even in Alabama we have a government demanded gun free zone within the transportation device of our most precious commodity. The bus driver was never even given the opportunity to not only protect himself, nor to be able to protect the children in his charge. Yet ENCINOM will scream like a little girl that an armed bus drive will only endanger the children occupying the bus. But, all the while he must think that only the armed assailant has to be less a danger to the children……and in this case the bus driver.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzUkXJpezyI
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The-Monk
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:45amHi RJJ,
Very prophetic and relevant link and statement….
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RJJinGadsden
Jan. 30, 2013 at 10:09amHi MONK, Just heard on local radio since I am her in Alabama that local authorities have found child pornography on this guys computer. Must be making Ms WANG-DANG-DOODLE and ENCINOM drool about now. Perverts, must be trying to become a Scout leader now.
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lqtm
Jan. 30, 2013 at 11:04amYeah dude, there should be a whole rack of weapons on the bus. That way when some nutjob smiles and pulls and fires before the driver even realizes he’s dead he can stock up on extra guns and ammo. For people who purport to know so much about firearms you all seem to neglect the reality that you can’t prevent a surprise attack by a determined attacker. If you arm bus drivers, and someone wants to get at some kids on the bus, they just have to feign innocence until they have the chance to execute their attack. The only way a bus driver would be able to prevent such a surprise is if he drew and brandished at every person who approached the bus. But does that include kids? Your arguments spiral quickly into the impractical. That’s why the best approach is to be careful who we give guns to, and that necessitates not only better mental health services but a better background check network with access to such information among other information. I don’t check replies FYI.
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YOURSENSEI
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:00pmMr or Ms RJJINGADSDEN,
This is what you must know:
Alabama, eh? My, doesn’t that explain a lot. Alabama has one of the lowest average IQ ratings in the country. Thank god for Mississippi, right? Yes indeed. And apparently y’all have your share of murderous 2nd Amendment patriots. You know, God’s country. Hey, did they rebuild Floribama? Hope so. You folks need something to do besides collect child porn. Get a hobby, will ya? Something that doesn’t involve somebody else’s kid.
It is so.
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ares338
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:21amWe need to ban all assault buses. Especially those with high powered engines.
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lqtm
Jan. 30, 2013 at 10:49amUnreasonable hyperextension of logic is not compelling because it constitutes a red herring (a logical fallacy). Real clever though that one isn’t played out by now.
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Thundergod
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:20amI heard it reported the man was already on the run from police when he shot the bus driver and kidnapped the child. What was he already on the run from police for?
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s0ck_monkey
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:37amOne of my co-workers just told me that around Christmas time, he was arrested and charged with “being a menace” and had a court date set for today (Jan 30) for that charge.
It’s not clear on why he was already on the run from the cops, though.
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lqtm
Jan. 30, 2013 at 10:48amWho cares, bus drivers should have guns so when they get shot without warning the shooter gets another. In fact, the kid should have had a glock. I’m buying my kid a glock this afternoon and he’s only five!
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founderschild
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:17amThis situation is taking place very near to me. This is another nut case, but it will be used to promote gun control. It seems everything is working against supporters of the constitution.
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s0ck_monkey
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:22amSame here, I’m in Daleville. A couple of guys I work with have told me that supposedly this guy is a Vietnam vet, and that people who know him are saying he’s had one of those “the government is out to get me” mindsets. Guess all that is just heresay at this point.
All I know is, if it were my kid he took hostage….woe be unto him!
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seek.the.truth
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:11amGod bless that driver. He lost his life trying to protect one of his students.
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SamIamTwo
Jan. 30, 2013 at 9:25amAmen
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SREGN
Jan. 30, 2013 at 8:05amIf that 6 yr old was still in the womb, and the 67 yr old killed it, would Bobama and Sebilius consider it a murder?
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Thighmaster
Jan. 30, 2013 at 7:58amThere needs to be more laws on taking a gun on to a bus and shooting the driver and kidnapping children. Problem solved….
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lqtm
Jan. 30, 2013 at 10:51amNo, there should be less laws so that people who want to get on buses and shoot the drivers can do so. This is the land of the free.
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nesmond
Jan. 30, 2013 at 6:01pmYou mean as in gun-free zone signs for buses? Of course! why didn’t I think of that? That always works.
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jcldwl
Jan. 30, 2013 at 7:40am67 year old shooter takes 6 year old. I wonder if he is a pedophile or related. I hope The Blaze follows up so we know.
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