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‘Doomsday Prepper’?: Gunman Who Killed Bus Driver and Took a Boy Hostage In Underground Bunker Is Alleged ‘Survivalist’

Jan. 31, 2013 8:17am Billy Hallowell

TheBlaze’s Jonathon M. Seidl contributed to this report.

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The bizarre story about an Alabama man who shot and killed a bus driver, abducted a child, hunkered down in an underground bunker and sparked a more than 30-hour (and counting) police standoff continues to take intriguing twists and turns. Among them, people close to the investigation claim that the perpetrator is a “survivalist,” an individual who is prepared with an underground location, food and supplies in case of potential catastrophe.

Jimmy Lee Dykes Is Allegedly a Doomsday Prepper | Alabama Bus Driver Shooting

Heavily armed men move away from the suspects home at the scene of a Dale County hostage scene in Midland City, Ala. on Wednesday Jan. 30, 2013. Authorities were locked in a standoff Wednesday with a gunman authorities say on Tuesday intercepted a school bus, killed the driver, snatched a 6-year-old boy and retreated into a bunker at his home in Alabama. Credit: AP

While police haven’t officially named the suspect, neighbors and sources claim that he is 65-year-old Jimmy Lee Dykes, a retired truck driver and Vietnam veteran who purportedly suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). New-found details about his beliefs and alleged outlook on America, the government and impending disaster are now becoming centerpieces in various media accounts of the dangerous situation at hand.

WFSA-TV is just one outlet that reports that Dykes is purportedly a “doomsday prepper.” As of Thursday morning, this factoid was gaining steam, with media outlets providing little background about the movement that the suspect is being attached to. In addition to claiming that the accused is a potential survivalist, WFSA also reports that the underground bunker he built – the location he is suspected of keeping the child in — is stocked with food and other essentials.

In addition, some are claiming that Dykes holds anti-American views. However there do not seem to be corroborations or definitive assessments surrounding what, exactly, this means. CNN, among other outlets, has cited Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a liberal group that monitors extremism in America. Potok claims that Dykes has been described as being ”very much standoffish and very much a loner,” but that any attachment to anti-government groups is currently unknown.

In his CNN appearance, the SPLC staffer touched upon preppers, claiming that, ”survivalism has been associated with the far right in this country for many years.” That said, Potok refrained from making sweeping generalizations about the movement being tied to any sort of violence or criminal activity.

“Certainly most preppers are not going to kill anyone or [conduct] any criminal violence,” he told host Anderson Cooper.

Watch Potok discuss survivalism and the suspect’s potential beliefs, below:

This isn’t the first time the “prepper” movement has been included in a tragedy. After the Newtown massacre, many were quick to point out that the mother of gunman Adam Lanza was focused on being prepared.

“It’s just brutal right now,” Phil Burns, co-founder of the American Preppers Network, told TheBlaze in an exclusive interview at the time. “I have a community to look out for and to protect. This is my passion and I don’t like seeing it demonized.”

“Preppers’ are being used as a scapegoat right now,” he added.

As he explained at the time, “preppers” can be a misleading term since there are really three categories: survivalists, doomsday preppers and conspiratorial preppers.

As for the incident itself, neighbor Mike Creel spoke with students on the bus and painted a shocking picture of the scenario that began earlier this week. Dykes allegedly boarded a school bus and killed the driver, managing to leave with one child who had fainted during the incident. Creel says the suspect then “retreated back onto his land” and hid himself — and the child — in “his homemade bomb shelter.” According to the neighbor, the bunker was one of the first things that Dyke started building two years ago when he moved onto the land.

Since Tuesday, the unnamed, 6-year-old child has been underground with the alleged captor. While the situation is still being described as “static,” the young boy is said to be okay. Authorities were reportedly able to get essential medication to him (New York Magazine reports that the medications he takes are for ADHD and Asperger’s syndrome).

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Related:

Man Shoots, Kills School Bus Driver and Flees With 6-Year-Old Child — Hours-Long Police Standoff Continues

In CONTROL, Glenn Beck presents a passionate, fact-based case for guns that reveals why gun control isn’t really about controlling guns at all; it’s about controlling us. Find out more HERE.

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Comments (140)

drawlr
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 1:30pm
See the two cops in the CNN picture? Now there’s some bacon!

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Bonnieblue2A
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 1:16pm
The attempt of The Blaze to label this wack-a-loon murderer & kidnapper as a survivalist and a prepper is dishonest and despicable. It is just as bad as the State Run Media.

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Former11BRAVO
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 12:44pm
Who told you guys there are “three kinds of ‘preppers’”?

You have no idea what you’re talking about. You know that? There are as many “kind” of preppers as there are REASONS to prepare!

Why don’t you guys stick to reporting on things about which you have a clue, huh?

AND . . . consider that: if there were absolutely NO incidents of any kind involving “preppers”, the Left would invent them. Personally, I have yet to see one iota of PROOF that any prepper anywhere has ever been involved in anything like these recent tragedies! That said, the idiots Nat Geo shows on their moronic show . . . I don’t know about a few of THEM! But, to my mind, if you’re dumb enough to put yourself on TV (showing your precious “Doomsday” preparations to the world), just how serious a prepper can you possibly be? I’d think secrecy would be paramount. Right? Therefore, the whole show is probably bunk and I don’t believe a second of it!

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BoyScout_Mom
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 12:42pm
I prayed for this child throughout the night. I wonder if they would allow a hostage exchange, or his mother to join him and make the second hostage he was seeking.

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Tom70
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 12:32pm
Oh! Boy now the Bamster has a reason to use al those soccer fields with concertina wire around the tops of the electrified fences. Round up every single prepper they are just a bunch of red necks who are racist cooks. The also don’t believe in the prophecy of the “ONE.” “CHANGE”
Damn what a break for Holder and O Hussein B.

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- Mil-Dot
  Posted on January 31, 2013 at 1:54pm
  I don’t think that most cooks or chefs are racist. They just want people to enjoy the food they prepare for their guests. That’s all.
  
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vaman
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 12:31pm
Doomsday preppers are obviously disturbed people. They prepare ridiculously for events that will never happen. The blaze advertises a lot of insane prepping nonsense. There is a good possibility this kidnapper is a standard blaze reader, who is an extremist, fringe member of society.

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- Bonnieblue2A
  Posted on January 31, 2013 at 1:18pm
  Clue: there is no reality in “Reality TV”. It is all made up by Nat. Geographic in order to get ratings. Get a grip, turn off your television, and educate yourself. If you cannot discern fiction from reality you might need professional counciling.
  
  Report this comment
Tim the Libertarian
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 12:19pm
I work down the road from this guy in Dothan, AL and heard from one of my employees who talked to someone in local law enforcement yesterday. The reason that they are hesitant to go in and get the fellow is because he has boobie trapped the area with bombs. They have evacuated many neighbors from the area and were thinking about evacuating the citizens in Midland City, approximately two miles away. I don’t know what kind of munitions this guy has planted, but it must be pretty powerful.
Don’t forget the courage of the bus driver who resisted this guy to save the kids and paid for it with three bullets and his life.
As a firm believer in the second amendment and after the shooting at Sandy Hook, my suggestion is for the government to allow those teachers, administrators and bus drivers that want to to go through gun training and be allowed to carry concealed weapons at school. It would only take two or three at each school to protect the students. The only reason that they go to schools and movie theaters is because they know that no guns are present to protect those that are there. Even someone who is mentally ill would be much less likely to do that if they knew that some of the adults present were armed and trained to take them out. Remember, they are cowards and unarmed teachers and kids are an attractive target.

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txannie
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 11:51am
“Preppers” are already marginalized, now they will be outlawed….”no planning for disaster or you will be arrested and your goods confiscated to make sure you cannot depend on anything or anyone but the government” all because one nutjob is called a “prepper”. ( you could probably change the word “prepper” to “survivalist” without any problem, most people think they are the same thing, and maybe they are, I don’t know….)

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G-WHIZ
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 11:29am
The MSM will find out he’sa DEMOC-RAT and SUDDENLY outa-nowhere the story will be scrubbed!

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Verceofreason
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 11:22am
A survivalist?
Sounds like a perfect spokesman for the NRA.
Maybe TOO sane.

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firemanfrank
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 11:19am
Anti-American is not the same as Anti-government. I would think that the media would know this? Stupid me. They do know the difference they are betting that the average citizen does not.

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woodyee
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 11:15am
“…and Vietnam veteran who purportedly suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).”

You can count that if you’ve even ever TALKED to someone about getting advice on PTSD, the proposed new bans will be intended to affect YOU.

Preppers take note – the media is about to go as hysterical on you, as they went hoplophobic on gun owners.

And you guys and gals seeking marriage counseling; you folks seeking help for your ADS children, and like-minded individuals, had best think about what you say and where you which will be recorded and used against you should you desire to obtain tools for self-defense – AND…

you may be setting your kids up for a BIG fall when they’re old enough to make decisions for themselves “Mom, YOU thought I was ADS! I told you not to believe the teacher! I TOLD YOU I didn’t like the medication you gave me! Now I can’t be a cop, cause I can’t own a gun! Heck, I can’t even by protection for my future family!”.

Get on board or suffer the consequences is

‘jes my opinin’…

PS – some Churches provide good counseling. Check some of them out before you go see a potential trouble-maker.

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- firemanfrank
  Posted on January 31, 2013 at 11:26am
  Very valid point. The next big govt step will be to over ride the hippa laws? If so then we will know what meds queen pelosi takes and exactly what excuse willy Clinton told Hillary in marraige counseling.Oh the container of worms that will be opened is HUGE and the Dr. Will not Dr. Their medical records right?
  
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- DougHuffman
  Posted on January 31, 2013 at 12:31pm
  PPACA is the act on point, not HIPPA. IIRC §1001(5) or there about.
  
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kindling
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 10:36am
wow….talk about taking a small piece of truth and wrapping a HUGE lie around it and putting it out in the world as fact…..that is the media today! That first video was unbelievable. It frightens me to see how reporters and the left see people like me and makes me realize exactly why I am so fearful of what is coming. It is like a dog chasing its tail. They do crazy stuff, lie about it and then lie about our reaction to their lies.

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YOURSENSEI
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 10:28am
This is what you must know:

We know where your bunkers are. We see you burying your shipping containers and school buses and water tanks. We know where the guns are. How much ammo you have. In fact, we’re the ones making all the money off you doing this crazy stuff. Yep, that’s right. All of us up here, we’re all in it together against all of you down there. And it’s not about the Constitution and it’s not about the Founding fathers
or the American dream or the expansion of our Manifest Destiny. It’s all about the money. And as long as you keep living the life we tell you to live, everything will be just fine. Our only concern is that you actually start living free – like the poor Mexican woman out in West Texas singing and hanging wash on the line. But we’re doing all we can to make sure that doesn’t happen – in a fair and balanced way. Thanks for doing your part.

It is so.

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- woodyee
  Posted on January 31, 2013 at 11:19am
  This is what you must know.
  
  Your post is indicative of a disturbed individual. Please get help.
  
  It is so.
  
  Report this comment
MyAlaska
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 10:18am
Thank goodness, after Katrina, when my family was shut in from trees for 5 days and did not see electricity for over a month, people don’t look at me so crazy anymore. It’s a simple fact of life now. As for economic and/or government meltdowns, my friends still actually believe it “won’t happen here”. S WHAT???? It is literally happening as we speak in Ireland, Greece, Spain and Italy. What do you mean it won’t happen here? People are SO gullible sometimes.

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- AxelPhantom
  Posted on January 31, 2013 at 10:49am
  Unfortunately, I am willing to bet that most of the victims of hurricane Sandy will still be thinking that government is the answer to all their ills; violent gun crimes, jobs, poverty, healthcare, etc.
  
  These would be the same people we saw on television four days later asking where the promised FEMA food and water were. Where were the electric companies, FEMA, the police protection from the looters?
  
  It is the same place that Katrina victims found themselves and yet it never occurs to them that it doesn’t seem to matter which party is in the White House, the ineptitude still exists. Maybe the problem is not the party in control, it is the process of government dependency itself——nahhhhhh how silly of me.
  
  Report this comment
kindling
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 10:13am
The story trys to tell us there are 3 catagories of nuts……”survivalists, doomsday preppers and conspiratorial preppers.” They leave out intelligent people that do not function on out of control feelings. Just because someone is an “ant” rather than a “grasshopper” does not make them somehow unbalanced. You don’t have to have some kind of mental problem to realize stuff happens and you should take steps to prepare. That is why so many people suffer needlessly after earthquakes and other natural disasters. The media twists facts for people whose out look is already twisted. The story tells us the man suffered from PTSD but they are not out calling for everyone suffering from that to be locked up. He was a VN vet and they are not blaming his behavour on that. He was a loner does that mean we should go out and round up all loners? How about we identify simptoms and deal with the fact he was emotionally challenged and many red flags were there before this horrible thing happend. No, the media will blame everything but the real issue…..mental illness.

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Knot4u2no
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 10:09am
The hostage situation in Alabama is the type of situation in which one or more investigators could gather the input ratings for a BRACE Character Profile and automatically generate interpersonal guidelines for the primary negotiator’s consideration. The hostage taker has been identified (Jimmy Lee Dykes) and there are quite a few people who have some knowledge of about him.

The downloads are free, located in the Client Area of braceanalysis.com:

see item 6: The BRACE Character Profile® Applied to Interview, Interrogation, Negotiation, and Profiling

“…this step-by-step program package requires minimal training. It informs approaches to interviewing, interrogation, negotiation, and informs a task force’s problem-solving. It includes 1) Step-by-step Instructions (PDF), 2) BRACE Character Profile™ input form (PDF), 3) Microsoft Excel for generating basic graphics and color coded correlation charts for prototypical types (DSM-IV-TR™ personality disorders, 40-point Hare PCL-R, Asperger’s Disorder), and 4) 22 slide PowerPoint presentation for interaction guidelines in “good cop-bad cop” role playing format.

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- Mil-Dot
  Posted on January 31, 2013 at 11:06am
  Nice work Knot. I had never heard of that before.
  
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txswalker
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 10:04am
I have a stockpile of food for about 6 months just because it makes me feel like I have provided for my family in case of an emergency. It really gives me peace of mind knowing that if I lost my job that food will really take alot of pressure off of me untill We get back on our feet. I garden because I like fresh food and the cows and chickens give us meat and eggs. Im not crazy, I just feel proud to be somewhat self reliant.

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GuruMeditation
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 9:54am
So what?

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AxelPhantom
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 9:53am
The way this thing works in the mind of the media is this guy is a nut, he is a veteran, he is a “survivalist” (although he did a crappy job since all of his neighbors seem to know the location of his bunker), he holds anti-government views and therefore is right wing (his anti-american views won’t count);

by logic of emotion (yes, that is meant to be contradictory)

….therefore all people on the right are potential kid-nappers with mental issues, looking to hijack school buses and shoot people.

If you are a “prepper”, a veteran, have a distrust of the ability of big government to keep you safe you are like this person and dangerous.

This is a definition of propaganda – information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc.

Rest assured, the media will work overtime to ensure that the link between this individual’s action and a commonality in a belief will be used to further their agenda, even though the two are not causational they will make the connection in the mind of the people.

For them corrolation is proof of causation.

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pwatkins
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 9:47am
This guy should have or may have been getting help for PTSD. I would never take up for anyone that killed an innocent person or kidnapped a child but I will say in some ways we have failed this old guy. I wouldn’t call him a prepper bc he sure wasn’t preparing for a disaster but created one. I pray for the bus driver’s family and the child and his family.

Kind of makes me wonder if he was being prepared by someone in the shadows when he should have been getting treatment for PTSD……….you never know these days. How many more of our kids will have to suffer while the left builds on their agenda.

I bet the people in NY and NJ are wishing they were so-called preppers bc many of them are discovering Obama, his bear hugging republican governor friend and his gun-hating, American hating NY buddy really won’t as prepped for a disaster as they should have been before the monster storm hit.

The left never reports facts anymore but thrives on conspiracies of their own and they always seem to point to the evil right they claim does nothing but dream up conspiracies…hmmm. They know what this guy has in his bunker, but the FBI hasn’t been down there yet….strange. When these reporters were getting all of their facts on this guy why didn’t they bring the child out. Could it be someone knows what the old guy has down there bc they know someone that helped him set this scene up. It is called speculating and I can do it too and I am not a reporter.

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- Mil-Dot
  Posted on January 31, 2013 at 11:12am
  PWatkins,
  “Kind of makes me wonder if he was being prepared by someone in the shadows when he should have been getting treatment for PTSD……….you never know these days.”
  
  Bingo. Good theory. Slip the guy some goon pills instead of his usual sertraline tablets and “voila” you got a kidnapping murderer on the loose. All these events are just too damn convenient for me to believe. I bet the media creeps are wringing their hands with glee.
  
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ChiefGeorge
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 9:44am
I don’t know anything about this guy. We do know he killed someone and kidnapped another. Thats worthy our our attention and getting the matter resolved.

As for the prepper/survialist labels…thats of course the left wing media trying to pigeon hole the matter so we’ll all instantly be able to understand that we are dealing with a whackjob….once this is done, just like at Ruby Ridge, then all rational decision making goes out the window. Hopefully we get it right this time.

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DZ-015
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 9:33am
The second video with this article had a chilling story from a neighbor who said the suspect beat her dog to death for straying onto his property. While she was speaking, the video went to a Google Earth zoom in on the location of the suspect’s property. After duplicating that, I found an icon on the property indicating there was a “Destiny Church” at the location. Further clicking led to a website for what appears to be an established church, so either the icon is misplaced or the location in the video is incorrect. It seems to be awful close to the main road to be a prepper bunker, a quarter mile from U.S. Highway 231, less than three miles west of Midland City, AL., 31deg20’6.17″N/85deg32’2.17″W

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- ChiefGeorge
  Posted on January 31, 2013 at 9:46am
  It may be that he is taking advantage of someone elses preps and shelter to simply commit a crime.
  
  Now that crime will be linked to preppers for all time.
  
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Johnny Cocheroo
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 9:28am
Just trying to make a little sense out of this.

Did the guy kidnap the kid so he could see how long he can make it in his bunker?

Or is there some other reason? Maybe he knows the kid, or is related and tried to take the kid off the bus but things turned out horribly wrong?

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- Mil-Dot
  Posted on January 31, 2013 at 11:16am
  Another good post. Something went wrong. He could have gone on the bus to confront some punk that was bullying his kid, the bus driver tried to intervene, the guy freaked and the driver took one in the pumpkin. The kid could indeed by his own offspring. But, like I said before, getting the truth out of the govt is like pulling a mule up a ladder.
  
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- Tim the Libertarian
  Posted on January 31, 2013 at 12:26pm
  The boy is an autistic six year old and is not his. He was scheduled to be in court the next morning to appear before the judge for menacing. He wanted two children between the ages of six and eight as hostages in his bunker. The unarmed bus driver refused to let him take any of the kids in his care and paid for it with his life, but in the process did allow most of the kids to escape out of the bus to safety. That man is a hero in my book!
  
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- Mil-Dot
  Posted on January 31, 2013 at 2:00pm
  Nice work Tim,
  Thanks for that update. Damn psychos, the give all of us snowmen a bad name.
  
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searching for the Truth
Posted on January 31, 2013 at 9:27am
Religious storm shelters may be incarcerated.

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