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Details emerge about Alabama suspect as hostage standoff goes into seventhh day

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A close-knit Alabama community has blanketed their town with fliers imploring people to pray for a boy held hostage for almost seven days, as authorities release new details on the man allegedly holding him in an underground bunker.

Authorities say 65-year-old Jimmy Lee Dykes, a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, gunned down a school bus driver and then abducted a 5-year-old boy from the bus, taking him to the bunker on his rural property.

On Sunday, more than 500 people paid final tribute to the driver, 66-year-old Charles Albert Poland Jr., hailing him as a hero for protecting the other children on the bus.

Dykes, described as a loner who railed against the government, lives up a dirt road outside this tiny hamlet north of Dothan in the southeast corner of the state. His home is just off the main road north to the state capital of Montgomery, about 80 miles away.

The FBI said in a statement Sunday that authorities continue to have an open line of communication with Dykes and that they planned to deliver to the bunker additional comfort items such as food, toys and medicine. They also said Dykes was making the child as comfortable as possible.

Government records and interviews with neighbors indicate that Dykes grew up in the Dothan area and joined the Navy in Midland City, serving on active duty from 1964 to 1969. His record shows several awards, including the Vietnam Service Medal and the Good Conduct Medal. During his service, Dykes was trained in aviation maintenance.

Later, Dykes lived in Florida, where he worked as a surveyor and a long-haul truck driver although it’s unclear how long.

He had some scrapes with the law there, including a 1995 arrest for improper exhibition of a weapon. The misdemeanor was dismissed. He also was arrested for marijuana possession in 2000.

He returned to Alabama about two years ago, moving onto the rural tract about 100 yards from his nearest neighbors, Michael Creel and his father, Greg.

Neighbors described Dykes as a man who once beat a dog to death with a lead pipe, threatened to shoot children for setting foot on his property, and patrolled his yard at night with a flashlight and a firearm. Michael Creel said Dykes had an adult daughter, but the two lost touch years ago.

The Dykes property has a white trailer which, according to Creel, Dykes said he bought from FEMA after it was used to house evacuees from Hurricane Katrina. The property also has a steel shipping container — like those on container ships — in which Dykes stores tools and supplies.

Next to the container is the underground bunker where authorities say Dykes is holed up with the 5-year-old. Neighbors say that the bunker has a pipe so Dykes could hear people coming near his driveway. Authorities have been using the ventilation pipe to communicate with him.

The younger Creel, who said he helped Dykes with supplies to build the bunker and has been in it twice, said Dykes wanted protection from hurricanes.

“He said he lived in Florida and had hurricanes hit. He wanted someplace he could go down in and be safe,” Creel said. Authorities say the bunker is about 6 feet by 8 feet, and the only entrance is a trap door at the top.

Such bunkers are not uncommon in rural Alabama because of the threat of tornadoes.

Greg Creel was a friend of Dykes, but he said he would not comment for The Associated Press. “I will only talk to the police and the FBI,” he said.

Michael Creel said Dykes kept to himself and listened a lot to conservative talk radio.

“He was very into what’s going on with the nation and the politics and all the laws being made. The things he didn’t agree with, he would ventilate,” he said.

James Arrington, police chief of the neighboring town of Pinckard, put it differently.

“He’s against the government, starting with Obama on down,” he said.

Morris Dees of Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, a group that tracks hate crimes, said Dykes was not on the group’s radar.

Although the fatal shootings in December at a school in Newtown, Conn., are still on everyone’s mind, Dees said he doesn’t think Dykes was trying to be a copycat.

“Probably not. He had a whole bus load full of kids, and he could have walked up there and shot the whole crowd of them,” he said.

“I think he’s just a really angry and bitter guy with some anger management issues,” Dees said. “He is just against everything — the government and his neighbors.”

The mother of the 5-year-old boy is ‘hanging on by a thread,’ said a local politician who visited the woman.

State Rep. Steve Clouse, who represents the Midland City area, said the mother told him that the boy has Asperger’s syndrome as well as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.

Residents are praying for the safe return of the boy.

“The community is real concerned,” said Fred McNab, mayor of Pinckard, Ala. “You can tell by the food that’s been carried over there to the church. It’s just devastating. We want it to come to a resolution. We want to save that little child.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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Sheriff thanks suspect for taking care of boy held hostage, as Alabama standoff continues

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The Alabama mother of the 5-year-old boy held hostage in an underground bunker for five days is ‘hanging on by a thread,’ said a local politician who visited the woman.

State Rep. Steve Clouse, who represents the Midland City area, said the mother told him that the boy has Asperger’s syndrome as well as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.

Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson said in a briefing with reporters Saturday that Jimmy Lee Dykes has told them he has blankets and an electric heater in the bunker. Olson said Dykes has allowed authorities to deliver coloring books, medication and toys for the boy.

“I want to thank him for taking care of our boy,” Olson said. “That’s very important.”

Negotiators were still trying to persuade Dykes, 65, considered a loner by many, to surrender. Police have said they believe the Vietnam-era veteran fatally shot Charles Albert Poland Jr., a school bus driver on Tuesday, and then abducted the boy from the bus and disappeared into the home-made bunker.

Poland was mourned by hundreds who gathered at a funeral home not far from the underground bunker where police say an Alabama man was still holding a 5-year-old boy early Sunday. Friends remembered him as a humble hero who gave his life to protect the children on the bus — and someone who went out of his way to help neighbors.

“You don’t owe me anything,” Poland, of Newton, once told a recipient of his good deed. “You’re my neighbor.”

The 66-year-old Poland was driving a school bus carrying 21 children last Tuesday when an armed man boarded the bus and demanded two boys between 6 and 8 years old. Poland tried to block his way, so the gunman shot him several times and abducted a 5-year-old boy — who police say remains in an underground bunker with the suspect, identified as 65-year-old Jim Lee Dykes.

William Lisenby, a school bus driver who also taught Sunday School with Poland, was flanked by other area bus drivers as he arrived at Saturday night’s viewing. Lisenby spoke in Biblical terms when referring to Poland, whose funeral is Sunday afternoon.

“If you’ll notice the similarities there, of what Chuck did was the same thing that Jesus Christ did. These children, even though they were not Chuck’s, he laid down his life to defend those children. My hat’s off to him for that,” he said.

Dykes is a Vietnam-era veteran described by some neighbors as a menacing figure with anti-government views. Neighbors said Dykes built the bunker on his rural property, and police have been communicating with Dykes through a ventilation pipe into the bunker.

The shooting and abduction took place in Midland City, a small town near Dothan, Ala., in the state’s southeastern corner.

Newton is about three miles away, a small hamlet with fewer than 2,000 residents. It sits amid cotton farms and rolling hills sprinkled with red earth; most of the residents commute to Dothan or to a nearby Army post. And many knew Poland.

“He’s probably the nicest guy you’ll ever meet,” said Lonnie Daniels, the 69-year-old owner of the NAPA Auto Parts store, one of three establishments in town that was open Saturday.

Daniels said Poland had been married to his wife for 43 years. Poland was from Idaho, but his wife was from Newton. The couple lived there for decades in a small mobile home, and Poland enjoyed gardening and clearing brush from his property.

“I knew that he was always there if I needed,” said Daniels, adding that Poland was an excellent mechanic with an array of tools that he lent to people in town.

Skipper said Poland and his wife would often sit on their porch, drinking coffee, praying and reading the Bible.

“They loved to be together,” Skipper said.

On Saturday morning, Poland‘s wife wasn’t home. A rack of worn trucker’s caps sat on hooks on the porch, and two freshly baked pies were laid atop a cooler.

The victim’s son, Aaron Poland, told NBC News that he wasn’t surprised by his father’s final act, trying to protect a bus full of kids.

“He considered them his children,” Poland said, choking back tears. “And I know that’s the reason why my dad took those shots, for his children, just like he would do for me and my sister.”

As Newton grieves, residents are praying for the safe return of the boy being held hostage.

“The community is real concerned,” said Fred McNab, mayor of Pinckard, Ala. “You can tell by the food that’s been carried over there to the church. It’s just devastating. We want it to come to a resolution. We want to save that little child.”

Police have used the pipe for communication and to deliver the boy medication for his emotional disorders. State Rep. Steve Clouse, who visited the boy’s mother, said the boy has Asperger’s syndrome — a mild form of autism — and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.

But police have not revealed how often they are in touch or what the conversations have been about.

Dykes had been scheduled to appear in court Wednesday to answer charges he shot at his neighbors in a dispute last month over a speed bump.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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Ala. town mourns for bus driver amid standoff

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The Alabama bus driver slain at the beginning of a multi-day hostage drama was known for his acts of kindness, from fixing someone’s tractor to tilling the garden of a neighbor who had a heart attack.

Charles Albert Poland, Jr., was mourned by hundreds who gathered at a funeral home not far from the underground bunker where police say an Alabama man was still holding a 5-year-old boy early Sunday. Friends remembered Poland as a humble hero who gave his life to protect the children on the bus — and someone who went out of his way to help neighbors.

“You don’t owe me anything,” Poland, of Newton, once told a recipient of his good deed. “You’re my neighbor.”

The 66-year-old Poland was driving a school bus carrying 21 children last Tuesday when an armed man boarded the bus and demanded two boys between 6 and 8 years old. Poland tried to block his way, so the gunman shot him several times and abducted a 5-year-old boy — who police say remains in an underground bunker with the suspect, identified as 65-year-old Jim Lee Dykes.

William Lisenby, a school bus driver who also taught Sunday School with Poland, was flanked by other area bus drivers as he arrived at Saturday night’s viewing. Lisenby spoke in Biblical terms when referring to Poland, whose funeral is Sunday afternoon.

“If you’ll notice the similarities there, of what Chuck did was the same thing that Jesus Christ did. These children, even though they were not Chuck’s, he laid down his life to defend those children. My hat’s off to him for that,” he said.

Dykes is a Vietnam-era veteran described by some neighbors as a menacing figure with anti-government views. Neighbors said Dykes built the bunker on his rural property, and police have been communicating with Dykes through a ventilation pipe into the bunker.

Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson told reporters Saturday that Dykes has told them he has blankets and an electric heater in the bunker. Authorities have been conferring in a nearby church.

Olson also said Dykes has allowed police to deliver coloring books, medication and toys for the boy.

“I want to thank him for taking care of our boy,” Olson said. “That’s very important.”

The shooting and abduction took place in Midland City, a small town near Dothan, Ala., in the state’s southeastern corner.

Newton is about three miles away, a small hamlet with fewer than 2,000 residents. It sits amid cotton farms and rolling hills sprinkled with red earth; most of the residents commute to Dothan or to a nearby Army post. And many knew Poland.

“He’s probably the nicest guy you’ll ever meet,” said Lonnie Daniels, the 69-year-old owner of the NAPA Auto Parts store, one of three establishments in town that was open Saturday.

Daniels said Poland had been married to his wife for 43 years. Poland was from Idaho, but his wife was from Newton. The couple lived there for decades in a small mobile home, and Poland enjoyed gardening and clearing brush from his property.

“I knew that he was always there if I needed,” said Daniels, adding that Poland was an excellent mechanic with an array of tools that he lent to people in town.

Skipper said Poland and his wife would often sit on their porch, drinking coffee, praying and reading the Bible.

“They loved to be together,” Skipper said.

On Saturday morning, Poland‘s wife wasn’t home. A rack of worn trucker’s caps sat on hooks on the porch, and two freshly baked pies were laid atop a cooler.

The victim’s son, Aaron Poland, told NBC News that he wasn’t surprised by his father’s final act, trying to protect a bus full of kids.

“He considered them his children,” Poland said, choking back tears. “And I know that’s the reason why my dad took those shots, for his children, just like he would do for me and my sister.”

As Newton grieves, residents are praying for the safe return of the boy being held hostage.

“The community is real concerned,” said Fred McNab, mayor of Pinckard, Ala. “You can tell by the food that’s been carried over there to the church. It’s just devastating. We want it to come to a resolution. We want to save that little child.”

Police have used the pipe for communication and to deliver the boy medication for his emotional disorders. State Rep. Steve Clouse, who visited the boy’s mother, said the boy has Asperger’s syndrome — a mild form of autism — and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.

But police have not revealed how often they are in touch or what the conversations have been about.

Local officials who have spoken to police or the boy’s family have described a small room with food, electricity and a TV.

Sheriff Olson would not say Saturday whether Dykes has made any demands. Olson added that he is limited in the details he can release.

Dykes had been scheduled to appear in court Wednesday to answer charges he shot at his neighbors in a dispute last month over a speed bump.

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Follow Tamara Lush on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tamaralush

Associated Press writers Eric Tucker in Washington; Tamara Lush and Phillip Rawls in Midland City; Bob Johnson in Montgomery, Ala., and AP researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed to this report.

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Alabama standoff continues as officials silent about talks with alleged abductor

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As a police standoff with an Alabama man accused of holding a 5-year-old boy hostage in an underground bunker entered its fifth day, authorities were saying little except that their talks with the 65-year-old loner were continuing through a ventilation pipe.

Negotiators were still trying late Friday to persuade Jimmy Lee Dykes to surrender. Police have said they believe the Vietnam-era veteran fatally shot a school bus driver on Tuesday, and then abducted the boy from the bus and disappeared into the home-made bunker.

While police were mostly staying mum about the delicate negotiations, it fell to neighbors to fill in the blanks about Dykes, described by some as a menacing figure who held anti-government views.

One of Dykes’ next-door neighbors said the suspect spent two or three months constructing the bunker, digging several feet into the ground and then building a structure of lumber and plywood, which he covered with sand and dirt.

Neighbor Michael Creel said Dykes put the plastic pipe underground from the bunker to the end of his driveway so he could hear if anyone drove up to his gate. When Dykes finished the shelter a year or so ago, he invited Creel to see it — and he did.

“He was bragging about it. He said, `Come check it out,” Creel said.

He said he believes Dykes’ goal with the standoff is to publicize his political beliefs.

“I believe he wants to rant and rave about politics and government,” Creel said. “He’s very concerned about his property. He doesn’t want his stuff messed with.”

Police have used a ventilation pipe to the bunker to talk to the man and deliver the boy medication for his emotional disorders, but they have not revealed how often they are in touch or what the conversations have been about. Authorities waited until Friday to confirm the suspect’s identity.

While much of what is going on inside the bunker remains a mystery, local officials who have spoken to police or the boy’s family have described a small room with food, electricity and a TV. And while the boy has his medication, an official also said he has been crying for his parents.

Meanwhile, Midland City residents held out hope that the standoff would end safely and mourned for the slain bus driver and his family. Candlelight vigils have been held nightly at a gazebo in front of City Hall. Residents prayed, sang songs such as “Amazing Grace” and nailed homemade wooden crosses on the gazebo’s railings alongside signs that read: “We are praying for you.”

“We’re doing any little thing that helps show support for him,” said 15-year-old Taylor Edwards said.

Former hostage negotiators said authorities must be cautious and patient as long as they are confident that the boy is unharmed. Ex-FBI hostage negotiator Clint Van Zandt advised against any drastic measures such as cutting the electricity or putting sleeping gas inside the bunker because it could agitate Dykes.

The negotiator should try to ease Dykes’ anxieties over what will happen when the standoff ends, and refer to both the boy and Dykes by their first names, he said.

“I want to give him a reason to come out,” Van Zandt said,

Police seemed to be following that pattern. At a brief news conference to release a photo of Dykes, they brushed off any questions about possible charges.

“It’s way too early for that,” said Kevin Cook, a spokesman for the Alabama state troopers.

Police have described the bunker as about 4 feet underground, with about 6-by-8 feet of floor space and the PVC pipe that negotiators were speaking through.

State Rep. Steve Clouse, who represents the Midland City area, said he visited the boy’s mother and she is “hanging on by a thread.” Clouse said the mother told him that the boy has Asperger’s syndrome as well as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.

Dr. Nadine Kaslow, a family therapist and psychiatry professor at Emory University in Atlanta, said the boy’s emotional troubles might make things even more difficult for him.

“They have less way to make sense of things,” she said of children with Asperger’s and ADHD.

The normally quiet red-clay road leading to the bunker was busy Friday with more than a dozen police cars and trucks, a fire truck, a helicopter, officers from multiple agencies and news media near Midland City. The town, population 2,300, is about 100 miles southeast of Montgomery.

Police vehicles have come and gone for hours from the command post, a small church nearby.

Neighbors said Dykes was easily angered and once beat a dog to death with a lead pipe, threatened to shoot children for setting foot on his property and patrolled his yard at night with a flashlight and a firearm.

He was in the Navy from 1964 to 1969, serving some time in Japan, according to military records.

Authorities said Dykes boarded a stopped school bus filled with 21 children on Tuesday afternoon and demanded two boys between 6 and 8 years old. When the driver tried to block his way, the gunman shot him several times and took the 5-year-old boy.

The bus driver, Charles Albert Poland Jr., 66, was hailed by local residents as a hero who gave his life to protect the pupils on his bus.

Dykes had been scheduled to appear in court Wednesday to answer charges he shot at his neighbors in a dispute last month over a speed bump. Neighbor Claudia Davis said he yelled and fired shots at her and her family over damage Dykes claimed their pickup truck did to a makeshift speed bump in the dirt road. No one was hurt.

Creel said his father and Dykes are friends. Creel said that after Dykes’ arrest, Dykes wrote a 2- to 3-page letter that at least in part addressed the menacing case.

Michael Creel said he hasn’t seen the letter but that his father, Greg Creel, has. Dykes reportedly told the elder Creel he had sent the letter to the local media, politicians and Alabama’s governor.

Police on Friday took a copy of the letter from the Creels’ home, according to Michael Creel. Reached for comment, Greg Creel confirmed the existence of the letter but declined further comment and said he was cooperating with police.

A neighbor directly across the street, Brock Parrish, said Dykes usually wore overalls and glasses and his posture was hunched-over. He said Dykes usually drove a run-down “creeper” van with some of the windows covered in aluminum foil.

Parrish often saw him digging in his yard, as if he were preparing to lay down a driveway or building foundation. He lived in a small camping trailer and patrolled his lawn at night, walking from corner to corner with a flashlight and a long gun. Authorities have not disclosed what firearms Dykes might have in his possession.

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Neighbors: Suspect in Ala. standoff was violent

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Jimmy Lee Dykes moved to a rural Alabama neighborhood on a rutted red clay road more than a year ago. It didn’t take long before he had developed a frightening reputation as a volatile man with anti-government views who threatened his neighbors at gunpoint and was viciously violent to wandering pets.

Multiple neighbors said Dykes, a 65-year-old retired truck driver, was the man suspected of boarding a school bus near his home, killing the driver and taking a 5-year-old boy hostage to begin a standoff that entered its second full day Thursday.

The neighborhood near Midland City, population 2,300, remained under siege after the Tuesday shooting, with the suspect and child holed up in a bunker-type shelter on the man’s property that was equipped with electricity, food and TV. Early Thursday, dozens of police cars and rental cars that had brought FBI agents to the site were gathered on the state highway at the clay road’s entrance. Some police officers milled about, guns holstered.

Homes on the road had been evacuated after authorities found what they believed to be a bomb on the property. SWAT teams earlier had taken up positions around the gunman’s property and police negotiators tried to win the kindergartener’s safe release.

The situation remained unchanged for hours as negotiators continued talking to the suspect, Alabama State Trooper Charles Dysart told a news conference late Wednesday. Earlier in the day, Sheriff Wally Olson said that authorities had “no reason to believe that the child has been harmed.”

Local TV station WDHN obtained a police dispatch recording of the moment officers first arrived at the site. On it, the officers are heard saying that they were trying to communicate with Dykes through a PVC pipe leading into the shelter.

Authorities gave no details of the standoff, and it was unclear if Dykes made any demands from the bunker, which resembled a tornado shelter.

State Rep. Steve Clouse, who met with authorities and visited the boy’s family, said the bunker had food and electricity, and the youngster was watching TV.

At one point, authorities lowered medicine into the bunker for the boy after his captor agreed to it, Clouse said.

The standoff began after school Tuesday afternoon. Sheriff Wally Olson said the man shot the bus driver several times when he refused to hand over the child. The gunman then took the boy away.

“As far as we know there is no relation at all. He just wanted a child for a hostage situation,” said Michael Senn, a pastor who helped comfort other traumatized children after the attack.

The bus driver, Charles Albert Poland Jr., 66, was hailed by locals as a hero who gave his life to protect the 21 students aboard the bus. Authorities say most of the students scrambled to the back of the bus when the gunman boarded and said he wanted two boys 6 to 8 years old.

But when the gunman went down the aisle, authorities said, Poland put his arm out to grab a pole near the front steps of the vehicle, trying to block the suspect. That’s when authorities say the driver was shot four times before the gunman grabbed one child and fled.

Asked about Dykes, neighbors said he was a man who once beat a dog to death with a lead pipe, threatened to shoot children for setting foot on his property and patrolled his yard at night with a flashlight and a shotgun.

He had been scheduled to appear in court Wednesday morning to answer charges he shot at his neighbors in a dispute last month over a speed bump.

Mike and Patricia Smith, who live across the street from Dykes and whose two children were on the bus, said their youngsters had a run-in with him about 10 months ago.

“My bulldogs got loose and went over there,” Patricia Smith said. “The children went to get them. He threatened to shoot them if they came back.”

“He’s very paranoid,” her husband said. “He goes around in his yard at night with a flashlight and shotgun.”

Another neighbor, Ronda Wilbur, said Dykes beat her 120-pound dog with a lead pipe for coming onto his side of the dirt road. The dog died a week later.

“He said his only regret was he didn’t beat him to death all the way,” Wilbur said. “If a man can kill a dog, and beat it with a lead pipe and brag about it, it’s nothing until it’s going to be people.”

Dykes had been scheduled to appear in court Wednesday to face a charge of menacing some neighbors as they drove by his house weeks ago. Claudia Davis said he yelled and fired shots at her, her son and her baby grandson over damage Dykes claimed their pickup truck did to a makeshift speed bump in the dirt road. No one was hurt.

“Before this happened, I would see him at several places and he would just stare a hole through me,” Davis said. “On Monday I saw him at a laundromat and he seen me when I was getting in my truck, and he just stared and stared and stared at me.”

__

Associated Press writers Bob Johnson in Montgomery and Jay Reeves in Birmingham contributed to this report.

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Neighbors of suspect in Alabama standoff say he was threatening, violent

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Jimmy Lee Dykes moved to a rural Alabama neighborhood on a rutted red clay road more than a year ago. It didn’t take long before he had developed a frightening reputation as a volatile man with anti-government views who threatened his neighbors at gunpoint and was viciously violent to wandering pets.

Multiple neighbors said Dykes, a 65-year-old retired truck driver, was the man suspected of boarding a school bus near his home, killing the driver and taking a 5-year-old boy hostage to begin a standoff that entered its second full day Thursday.

The neighborhood near Midland City, population 2,300, remained under siege after the Tuesday shooting, with the suspect and child holed up in a bunker-type shelter on the man’s property that was equipped with electricity, food and TV. Early Thursday, dozens of police cars and rental cars that had brought FBI agents to the site were gathered on the state highway at the clay road’s entrance. Some police officers milled about, guns holstered.

Homes on the road had been evacuated after authorities found what they believed to be a bomb on the property. SWAT teams earlier had taken up positions around the gunman’s property and police negotiators tried to win the kindergartener’s safe release.

The situation remained unchanged for hours as negotiators continued talking to the suspect, Alabama State Trooper Charles Dysart told a news conference late Wednesday. Earlier in the day, Sheriff Wally Olson said that authorities had “no reason to believe that the child has been harmed.”

Local TV station WDHN obtained a police dispatch recording of the moment officers first arrived at the site. On it, the officers are heard saying that they were trying to communicate with Dykes through a PVC pipe leading into the shelter.

Authorities gave no details of the standoff, and it was unclear if Dykes made any demands from the bunker, which resembled a tornado shelter.

State Rep. Steve Clouse, who met with authorities and visited the boy’s family, said the bunker had food and electricity, and the youngster was watching TV.

At one point, authorities lowered medicine into the bunker for the boy after his captor agreed to it, Clouse said.

The standoff began after school Tuesday afternoon. Sheriff Wally Olson said the man shot the bus driver several times when he refused to hand over the child. The gunman then took the boy away.

“As far as we know there is no relation at all. He just wanted a child for a hostage situation,” said Michael Senn, a pastor who helped comfort other traumatized children after the attack.

The bus driver, Charles Albert Poland Jr., 66, was hailed by locals as a hero who gave his life to protect the 21 students aboard the bus. Authorities say most of the students scrambled to the back of the bus when the gunman boarded and said he wanted two boys 6 to 8 years old.

But when the gunman went down the aisle, authorities said, Poland put his arm out to grab a pole near the front steps of the vehicle, trying to block the suspect. That’s when authorities say the driver was shot four times before the gunman grabbed one child and fled.

Asked about Dykes, neighbors said he was a man who once beat a dog to death with a lead pipe, threatened to shoot children for setting foot on his property and patrolled his yard at night with a flashlight and a shotgun.

He had been scheduled to appear in court Wednesday morning to answer charges he shot at his neighbors in a dispute last month over a speed bump.

Mike and Patricia Smith, who live across the street from Dykes and whose two children were on the bus, said their youngsters had a run-in with him about 10 months ago.

“My bulldogs got loose and went over there,” Patricia Smith said. “The children went to get them. He threatened to shoot them if they came back.”

“He’s very paranoid,” her husband said. “He goes around in his yard at night with a flashlight and shotgun.”

Another neighbor, Ronda Wilbur, said Dykes beat her 120-pound dog with a lead pipe for coming onto his side of the dirt road. The dog died a week later.

“He said his only regret was he didn’t beat him to death all the way,” Wilbur said. “If a man can kill a dog, and beat it with a lead pipe and brag about it, it’s nothing until it’s going to be people.”

Dykes had been scheduled to appear in court Wednesday to face a charge of menacing some neighbors as they drove by his house weeks ago. Claudia Davis said he yelled and fired shots at her, her son and her baby grandson over damage Dykes claimed their pickup truck did to a makeshift speed bump in the dirt road. No one was hurt.

“Before this happened, I would see him at several places and he would just stare a hole through me,” Davis said. “On Monday I saw him at a laundromat and he seen me when I was getting in my truck, and he just stared and stared and stared at me.”

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