The Alabama hostage crisis ended with the suspect dead. The 5-year-old boy held captive was rescued alive, according to the FBI.
Neighbors in Midland City, Alabama, say they heard a loud explosion and gunfire when authorities raided the underground bunker where the little boy named Ethan was being held by Jimmy Lee Dykes for nearly a week.
The FBI says they made that move because negotiations had deteriorated over the past 24 hours and Dykes was holding a gun.
Authorities say Ethan is being checked out at a hospital to make sure he wasn’t injured in the standoff.
Dykes took Ethan hostage last Tuesday after he shot and killed the boy’s school bus driver. It’s unclear what motivated Dykes to carry out the attack and standoff. However, the chief negotiator for the local Sheriff’s office told the Southern Poverty Law Center's Hatewatch that Dykes was a "survivalist type" with "anti-America" views.
At 8 and 10 p.m. ET, we’ll have the latest developments on the raid in Alabama that saved Ethan’s life.
Plus, we’ll look at what drives some people to build underground bunkers in America. Gary Tuchman has the story of a peaceful man in Utah who built an elaborate $65,000 bunker stocked with supplies, currency and weapons for a special purpose. He’s proud to call himself a survivalist. You’ll get an up close look at his hideout on the program tonight.