MIDLAND CITY, Ala. -- Authorities may never know why a south Alabama man killed a school bus driver and held a little boy hostage for six days in an underground bunker, a prosecutor said Friday.
Jimmy Lee Dykes, 65, wanted to go on live television to make a statement, said District Attorney Kirke Adams, but he never told negotiators exactly what he wanted to say. "He never let on what his message was going to be," Adams said in an interview.Dykes never clearly stated a motive for his actions, Adams said, but the man was due in court the day after the standoff began for a hearing on a menacing case filed in December after he allegedly fired a gun at neighbors. Officials aren't sure if that was the reason for the standoff."We had no contact with him since his arrest before this happened," Adams said.Neighbors said Dykes often went on rants against the government.Authorities said Dykes fatally shot bus driver Charles Albert Poland Jr., 66, and grabbed a boy identified only as Ethan off the bus, retreating to a handmade underground bunker where he held the child for six days.Dykes died of multiple gunshot wounds during an exchange of gunfire with FBI hostage rescuers Monday. The now-6-year-old boy is safe and back with his family after the ordeal.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
