The Midland City, Al. gunman who shot and killed a bus driver on Tuesday is still holding the 6-year-old child he abducted hostage in an underground bunker.
The gunman shot the bus driver, 66-year-old Charles Albert Poland Jr., and then attempted to grab two children, but was only able to grab one after the child fainted, according to CNN.
"We will continue to work diligently through the night in an effort to bring closure to this incident as quickly as possible," said Dale County Sheriff's Department on Tuesday.
The child is being held in a bunker that the suspect began building two years ago, soon after he moved to the city. It has been reported that the child has not been harmed and has been able to receive his daily medication through a PVC pipe.
There has been communication with the child and the suspect, but the situation was still continuing onto Thursday afternoon. The Los Angeles Times reports that there are SWAT teams at the scene and that officials will keep talking to the suspect and waiting outside.
Although officials have not confirmed this, neighbors have said the gunman is 65-year-old Jimmy Lee Dykes, a veteran and retired truck driver who was been in trouble with the law before.
“They’re still talking,” said Robin Litchfield of the Alabama Department of Public Safety. “Negotiators are negotiating and the boy is OK.”