On January 29, 2013, a hostage crisis, lasting almost seven days, began in the Wiregrass Region near U.S. Highway 231 in Midland City, Alabama. Jimmy Lee Dykes, a 65-year-old Vietnam War-era veteran, boarded a Dale County school bus, killed the driver, and took a five-year-old boy hostage. On the afternoon of February 4, law enforcement agents entered the bunker, killed Dykes, and rescued the child.[3]
| 2013 Alabama bunker hostage crisis | |
|---|---|
 Location of Midland City in Dale County within the U.S. state of Alabama | |
| Location | Midland City, Alabama, U.S. |
| Date | January 29, 2013 – February 4, 2013 c. 3:30 p.m.[1] – 3:12 p.m. (CST) |
| Target | Two random children aboard a school bus |
Attack type | Bus hijacking, hostage crisis, murder |
| Weapons | Ruger Handgun[2] |
| Deaths | 2 (including the perpetrator) |
| Victim | Charles Albert Poland, Jr. (killed on January 29) |
| Perpetrator | Jimmy Lee Dykes |
Details
editBus driver killing
editJust after 3:30 p.m.,[1] Dykes boarded a Dale County school bus that was stopped in Midland City and told the driver that he wanted to take two children, six and eight years old, both boys,[4] from the bus. The school bus driver, 66-year-old Charles Albert Poland, Jr., refused to let him take the children and challenged Dykes to shoot him.[4] He blocked access to the aisle of the bus while Dykes continued to argue with him.
Dykes fired five shots,[4] killing Poland, and left the bus taking Ethan Gilman, a five-year-old from Midland City Elementary School, with him. After he had left the bus with Gilman, the students on the bus left through the front door, having to pass by the body of Poland, whom many of them had known for years.[5] Authorities indicated that there was no pre-existing relationship between Dykes and the hostage.[6] Fifteen-year-old Tre' Watts, who was present on the bus, was the first person to call 911; he began the call when Dykes boarded the bus.[4]
Child abduction
editAfter the shooting, Dykes took Gilman to a 6-foot by 8-foot underground bunker on his property. The bunker contained homemade bombs[7] and was equipped with a PVC ventilation pipe. Hostage negotiators cooperated with Dykes in an attempt to obtain Gilman's release and to bring the situation to a favorable conclusion.[5]
Negotiations
edit
Soon after the shooting and abduction, Dykes called 911 and gave instructions on how to communicate with him. FBI hostage negotiators arrived at the bunker and began communicating with Dykes through the ventilation pipe, as he instructed.[8]
Because Gilman had Asperger's syndrome and ADHD, Dykes accepted medication for him, sent through the PVC pipe along with a coloring book and crayons.[9][10] It was later confirmed that Dykes wanted a specific female reporter to hold his hand while broadcasting him live from the bunker, and that he would commit suicide on live television.[11] Investigators also revealed that he had been "training" Gilman to detonate the improvised explosive devices inside the bunker.[4]
Rescue
editOn February 4, 2013, at 3:12 p.m. CST, the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team breached the roof of the bunker using explosive charges after negotiations began to break down and they saw, using a hidden camera, Dykes holding a gun. The agents threw stun grenades into the bunker[12] before exchanging gunfire with Dykes, killing him,[13] and rescuing the boy.[3] Gilman was taken to the hospital and was reported to be in good condition.[14] According to sources, two improvised explosive devices were discovered,[15] one inside the PVC pipe, the other inside the bunker.[10]
The perpetrator
editJimmy Dykes, a decorated Vietnam War Navy veteran, was identified as the gunman. He lived in isolation and supposedly lost contact with his two daughters, years before the incident, according to people who lived near him.[16] He previously lived in Florida, where he was arrested for brandishing a gun in 1995.[9][16] In 2000, he was arrested for marijuana possession charges.[16] He moved to Midland City, where he beat a neighbor's dog to death with an iron pipe when it walked onto his property, warned children not to enter his property,[16] and built a speed bump to prevent motorists from driving too fast down the street. Dykes was also known to have patrolled his property at night with a shotgun and a flashlight.[1][9] The day prior to the standoff, he was due in court for a hearing on a menacing case in which he allegedly fired a gun at neighbors.[10] Dykes had cleared a path on his property for school buses to take, and he had started speaking to Charles Poland weeks prior to the incident.[8]
Aftermath
editThe following week, on February 14, 2013, Dr. Phil interviewed Gilman and his mother, Jennifer Kirkland,[17] who had been raising Gilman since he was three years old; Gilman had earlier been raised in the Dale County, Alabama foster care system due to Kirkland's substance abuse issues.[18] On February 26, the bunker where Dykes held him captive was demolished by officials, who stated that it posed "a biological risk".[19] Soon after, Kirkland returned to substance abuse, leading to Gilman being raised by his grandmother, then by his 18-year-old brother when the grandmother died, until being adopted by the Turners – a local minister and his wife who had met then-toddler Gilman during his first round of foster care.[18] As of February 2019, just days after the sixth anniversary of the end of the bunker crisis, the family was living in Dothan, Alabama, where the newly-turned 12-year-old Gilman (now Ethan Turner) was in fifth grade at a local elementary school.[18]
Alabama Code Title 13A. Criminal Code § 13A-7-4.2, known as the Charles "Chuck" Poland, Jr. Act,[20] forbids trespass onto a school bus. It was named for Charles Poland, Jr., the school bus driver killed by Dykes. The act was signed into law by Governor Robert J. Bentley in June 2013.[21]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ a b c Ortiz, Erik (January 10, 2019) [2013-01-31]. "'He's very paranoid': While Alabama hostage situation continues, neighbors describe gunman Jimmy Lee Dykes as a volatile loner". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on October 4, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
- ^ Phillips, Michael M. (2014). "Inside an FBI Hostage Crisis" (Audiovisual media, text). The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on May 25, 2023. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
... Sheriff Olson identified Mr. Dykes's pistol as a Ruger.
- ^ a b "Alabama kidnapper was killed in firefight, explosives found in bunker, FBI says". Fox News. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e "How Cops Saved Boy in Bunker Standoff". ABC News. June 3, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
- ^ a b Carter, Chelsea J.; Howell, George. Alabama hostage suspect urged to let boy 'go home to his mother'. CNN, February 2, 2013.
- ^ Seiger, T. "FBI: No clear timeline in Midland City hostage situation". al.com, February 1, 2013
- ^ "Alabama hostage standoff update: Authorities slipped camera into bunker". KNXV-TV. Archived from the original on February 8, 2013. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
- ^ a b Edgemon, Erin (March 6, 2013). "Dale County Sheriff: Hostage-taker Jimmy Lee Dykes planned the kidnapping for weeks". Dothan Eagle. Archived from the original on March 10, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
- ^ a b c Daly, Michael (January 30, 2017). "Alabama Hostage Standoff: Jimmy Lee Dykes Seized Boy to Gain Attention". The Daily Beast. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
- ^ a b c Reeves, Jay (February 9, 2013). "Jimmy Lee Dykes' Motive For Holding Boy In Alabama Bunker Remains Unclear: DA". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on February 12, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
- ^ "The Boy In The Bunker Part 1". FBI True. Season 1. Episode 9. Efran Films Canada. February 28, 2023. Paramount+.
- ^ Pearce, Matt (February 13, 2013). "Dr. Phil interviews mom of Alabama boy who was held in bunker". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2017 – via Sun Sentinel.
- ^ Reeves, Jay (February 7, 2013). "Alabama child hostage-taker shot multiple times, body removed from bunker Wednesday night". Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved February 20, 2013 – via Alabama Media Group.
- ^ "Alabama hostage: 5-year-old boy "happy to be home," says family member". CBS News. Associated Press; CBS News; WKRG-TV. Archived from the original on May 15, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
- ^ "Jimmy Lee Dykes, Alabama Hostage Taker, Had Homemade Bombs In Bunker: Report". The Huffington Post. Associated Press. February 7, 2013 [2013-02-05]. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Jimmy Lee Dykes Dead: 5-Year-Old Hostage Rescued In Alabama Standoff". The Huffington Post. February 6, 2013 [2013-02-04]. Archived from the original on April 12, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
- ^ Almasy, Steve (February 14, 2013). "Mom to Dr. Phil: Ethan having trouble sleeping". CNN. Archived from the original on February 17, 2013. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
- ^ a b c Forehand, Michele W. (February 8, 2019). "Boy saved from gunman in bunker in 2013, now typical student". Associated Press; Dothan Eagle. Archived from the original on October 4, 2023. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
- ^ "Alabama Hostage Bunker Destroyed: Jimmy Lee Dykes' Shelter Demolished By Authorities". The Huffington Post. Associated Press. February 26, 2013. Archived from the original on February 28, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
- ^ "Alabama Code Title 13A. Criminal Code § 13A-7-4.2". Findlaw. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
- ^ "Alabama School Bus Trespass Act Named After Charles Poland Signed Into Law". School Transportation News. June 14, 2013. Archived from the original on August 20, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2021.