~snip~
Dykes was scheduled to be in court today for a trial related to charges of menacing, according to court records obtained by WDHN.
Sources tell Al.com the suspect, identified as 65-year-old Jimmy Lee Dykes, is a Vietnam veteran looking to gain attention to “air his grievances.” The Southern Poverty Law Center said today that Dale County Sheriff’s Investigator Tim Byrd told SPLC’s “Hatewatch” that Dykes has “anti-America” views. They described him as a “survivalist” with ties to the antigovernment movement.
Negotiations with Dykes have been ongoing throughout the night via a PVC pipe leading into the bunker.
The ordeal began just after 3:30 p.m. Tuesday when authorities say Dykes boarded a school bus in Midland City and shot the driver several times. Dale County sheriff’s officials this morning confirmed the bus driver’s identity as 66-year-old Charles Albert Poland Jr., who has been a Dale County Board of Education bus driver since 2009.
It was not immediately clear what prompted Dykes to storm the bus, but his motives appear to be related to a menacing charge in December. That month, Dykes pointed a gun at his neighbor, James Edward Davis, who told the Dothan Eagle that Dykes accused him of driving on his yard. Dykes was scheduled to have a bench trial today on the charge, and an unidentified girl who Dykes released from the bus told reporters that Dykes was referring to his upcoming case.
“Dykes and the child are in an underground bunker behind his home.”
Could that possibly be a CELLAR, or maybe a STORM SHELTER?
What makes it a bunker?