1 00:00:09,965 --> 00:00:11,837 - He pulls out a Ruger 9 millimeter, 2 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:14,840 and Dykes shoots it five times in front of 21 kids. 3 00:00:18,757 --> 00:00:22,108 - This guy's already committed a homicide. 4 00:00:22,152 --> 00:00:24,850 I have no reason to think that he wouldn't do it again. 5 00:00:24,893 --> 00:00:27,548 - Behind the bus driver is this little kid, Ethan. 6 00:00:27,592 --> 00:00:29,202 Just throws him over his shoulder, 7 00:00:29,246 --> 00:00:32,379 runs toward a bunker that he built on his property. 8 00:00:45,392 --> 00:00:47,177 - If they could get a clear shot on Dykes, 9 00:00:47,220 --> 00:00:50,702 they would take it, but it had to be a game-ending shot, 10 00:00:50,745 --> 00:00:53,096 basically a kill shot. 11 00:00:53,139 --> 00:00:58,101 He said, by tomorrow, 5:30, if I don't get what I want, 12 00:00:58,144 --> 00:01:01,104 the motherfuckers up there who are in charge, 13 00:01:01,147 --> 00:01:03,149 they're gonna be responsible for what happens. 14 00:01:03,193 --> 00:01:04,498 - All right, and so he's got a hostage, 15 00:01:04,541 --> 00:01:06,326 but does he really want-- does he wanna kill cops? 16 00:01:06,370 --> 00:01:07,458 Is that what he wants? 17 00:01:09,895 --> 00:01:11,375 [dramatic music] 18 00:01:11,418 --> 00:01:14,639 - In the FBI, we make a lot of headlines. 19 00:01:14,682 --> 00:01:17,642 ♪ 20 00:01:17,685 --> 00:01:19,165 Drug busts, 21 00:01:19,209 --> 00:01:22,037 mob stings, 22 00:01:22,081 --> 00:01:23,778 terrorist takedowns. 23 00:01:23,822 --> 00:01:25,911 - Get down! Get down! 24 00:01:25,954 --> 00:01:28,261 - We understand why people want to tell stories about us. 25 00:01:28,305 --> 00:01:29,306 - Mark it. 26 00:01:29,349 --> 00:01:30,829 - Freeze! - FBI. 27 00:01:30,872 --> 00:01:32,483 - FBI! - Action! 28 00:01:32,526 --> 00:01:34,528 - But they don't know the half of it. 29 00:01:34,572 --> 00:01:36,094 [indistinct radio chatter] 30 00:01:36,139 --> 00:01:38,228 What really goes down, 31 00:01:38,271 --> 00:01:40,491 we save that for each other 32 00:01:40,534 --> 00:01:42,667 when we're talking agent to agent. 33 00:01:42,710 --> 00:01:45,582 ♪ 34 00:01:45,626 --> 00:01:48,847 This is "FBI True." 35 00:01:52,633 --> 00:01:55,593 [dramatic music] 36 00:01:55,636 --> 00:02:00,293 ♪ 37 00:02:00,337 --> 00:02:03,644 - Cindy Coppola is a 23-year veteran of the FBI. 38 00:02:03,688 --> 00:02:06,517 She worked on cases that included organized crime 39 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:10,129 and terrorism and took part in multinational investigations 40 00:02:10,173 --> 00:02:12,610 into drug trafficking and money laundering. 41 00:02:12,653 --> 00:02:15,221 Coppola finished her career with the Los Angeles Division 42 00:02:15,265 --> 00:02:18,224 running two offices, supervising investigations 43 00:02:18,268 --> 00:02:20,966 and providing undercover security for special events. 44 00:02:23,403 --> 00:02:24,665 - But the thing is, I don't know, 45 00:02:24,709 --> 00:02:26,145 how did you guys even meet? 46 00:02:26,189 --> 00:02:29,235 - We met on this crazy 47 00:02:29,279 --> 00:02:30,845 hostage bunker case... - Bunker. 48 00:02:30,889 --> 00:02:33,544 - Which was nine years ago, 49 00:02:33,586 --> 00:02:34,980 coming up on ten years. - Coming up on ten years. 50 00:02:35,023 --> 00:02:37,199 - It will be ten years in January, February. 51 00:02:37,243 --> 00:02:40,594 I was in bed asleep, and my BlackBerry started going off. 52 00:02:40,638 --> 00:02:44,424 And all we were told was that there was a little boy 53 00:02:44,468 --> 00:02:48,994 who'd been kidnapped, and a bus driver had been killed. 54 00:02:49,037 --> 00:02:51,301 - Molly Amman was a profiler 55 00:02:51,344 --> 00:02:55,261 at the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit at Quantico. 56 00:02:55,305 --> 00:02:57,437 She specialized in domestic threats, 57 00:02:57,481 --> 00:03:00,266 stalkers, extortionists, mass attackers, 58 00:03:00,310 --> 00:03:02,355 and active shooters. 59 00:03:04,183 --> 00:03:06,359 - And there was a note, and they wanted to know 60 00:03:06,403 --> 00:03:09,493 what the profilers could make of that note. 61 00:03:09,536 --> 00:03:16,456 ♪ 62 00:03:23,071 --> 00:03:26,509 We spent a couple hours on it. Went back to bed at 1:00, 63 00:03:26,553 --> 00:03:27,815 thinking that it would be over. 64 00:03:27,859 --> 00:03:29,121 Usually, these things are over 65 00:03:29,164 --> 00:03:30,340 by the time you wake up the next morning, 66 00:03:30,383 --> 00:03:31,645 but that was not the case at all. 67 00:03:31,689 --> 00:03:34,126 - Just before 4:00 p.m. yesterday, 68 00:03:34,169 --> 00:03:37,564 we responded to a shooting on a Dale County school bus 69 00:03:37,608 --> 00:03:39,653 and discovered that the suspect had fled the scene 70 00:03:39,697 --> 00:03:41,742 with a small child. 71 00:03:41,786 --> 00:03:44,267 - And Bill, you were still at HRT, right? 72 00:03:44,310 --> 00:03:45,355 - Yeah. 73 00:03:45,398 --> 00:03:48,445 So HRT is the Hostage Rescue Team. 74 00:03:48,488 --> 00:03:52,187 It's the FBI's counterterrorism team. 75 00:03:52,231 --> 00:03:54,320 - Bill Francis was with the FBI's 76 00:03:54,364 --> 00:03:57,235 Elite Hostage Rescue Team for 17 years, 77 00:03:57,280 --> 00:03:59,586 most of it as a team leader. 78 00:03:59,630 --> 00:04:01,675 He specialized in hostage situations, 79 00:04:01,719 --> 00:04:04,678 high security events, and dignitary protection. 80 00:04:04,722 --> 00:04:06,158 - So what actually, though, happened? 81 00:04:06,201 --> 00:04:08,291 Like, you know, what was the beginning of it? 82 00:04:08,334 --> 00:04:11,119 - It was a little city called Midland City, 83 00:04:11,163 --> 00:04:14,297 just outside of Dothan, Alabama. 84 00:04:14,340 --> 00:04:16,995 A man called Jimmy Lee Dykes befriended bus driver, 85 00:04:17,038 --> 00:04:19,997 Charles Poland, by improving a turnaround 86 00:04:20,041 --> 00:04:21,826 on his property for a school bus. 87 00:04:23,828 --> 00:04:25,743 The school bus would come up the drive every morning, 88 00:04:25,786 --> 00:04:27,092 pick up the kids. 89 00:04:27,135 --> 00:04:28,833 And reverse in the afternoon, 90 00:04:28,875 --> 00:04:30,661 come up, drop the kids off. 91 00:04:30,704 --> 00:04:33,707 So the bus had to make a turn on his property. 92 00:04:33,750 --> 00:04:36,667 And Dykes would often get on the bus at the turnaround 93 00:04:36,710 --> 00:04:39,322 and give the bus driver vegetables 94 00:04:39,365 --> 00:04:41,149 that he grew on his property. 95 00:04:41,193 --> 00:04:43,848 And the bus driver felt sorry for Dykes. 96 00:04:43,891 --> 00:04:45,937 He would give stuff that his wife had made, 97 00:04:45,980 --> 00:04:48,809 like jellies, eggs, things like that. 98 00:04:48,853 --> 00:04:50,375 - So there was a video from the bus. 99 00:04:50,420 --> 00:04:52,726 The bus had a rearward facing camera 100 00:04:52,770 --> 00:04:54,554 that was set over the driver's head. 101 00:04:54,598 --> 00:04:56,208 So you couldn't see the driver, 102 00:04:56,250 --> 00:04:58,428 but you could see everything after, like, 103 00:04:58,471 --> 00:04:59,864 the first row of seats in the bus. 104 00:04:59,907 --> 00:05:06,740 ♪ 105 00:05:06,784 --> 00:05:08,742 - So on this particular day, on the 29th, 106 00:05:08,786 --> 00:05:11,397 it's the afternoon, 3:00-ish, 107 00:05:11,441 --> 00:05:15,053 and Dykes has a bag with collard greens 108 00:05:15,096 --> 00:05:16,446 or something sticking out the top. 109 00:05:16,489 --> 00:05:18,186 As soon as Dykes gets on the bus, 110 00:05:18,230 --> 00:05:20,319 the bus driver thinks he's gonna give him vegetables. 111 00:05:20,363 --> 00:05:21,929 He drops the bag. 112 00:05:21,973 --> 00:05:23,888 He pulls out a Ruger 9 millimeter. 113 00:05:23,931 --> 00:05:25,759 ♪ 114 00:05:25,803 --> 00:05:27,935 And he points it at the bus driver. 115 00:05:27,979 --> 00:05:29,546 Hands him a note at this point, 116 00:05:29,589 --> 00:05:31,983 and then he demands two children, 117 00:05:32,026 --> 00:05:35,202 well-behaved, six to ten years of age. 118 00:05:35,247 --> 00:05:37,423 He claims that they're not gonna be harmed. 119 00:05:37,467 --> 00:05:40,731 Bus driver, of course, refuses to give him the children. 120 00:05:40,774 --> 00:05:42,559 He says, "The kids are my responsibility. 121 00:05:42,601 --> 00:05:44,387 I can't do that." 122 00:05:44,430 --> 00:05:47,955 Very clearly denies Dykes' request. 123 00:05:54,832 --> 00:05:58,444 - Dykes becomes more animated as time goes on. 124 00:05:58,488 --> 00:06:01,055 What Dykes doesn't know is there's another child 125 00:06:01,099 --> 00:06:04,450 on the bus about halfway back, Tre Watts, 126 00:06:04,494 --> 00:06:08,802 who is on the phone with 911. 127 00:06:08,846 --> 00:06:10,543 - I cannot risk the kids. 128 00:06:16,070 --> 00:06:19,770 - At some point, Dykes hears the sirens, and he says that. 129 00:06:19,813 --> 00:06:22,033 He says, "The law is coming. I don't have much time." 130 00:06:27,908 --> 00:06:30,868 - "Give me--I need two kids." 131 00:06:30,911 --> 00:06:32,217 Bus driver says, "I can't do that. 132 00:06:32,260 --> 00:06:33,131 I can't. I can't." 133 00:06:42,270 --> 00:06:44,316 - Dykes says he's gonna have to shoot him. 134 00:06:47,232 --> 00:06:49,713 - Dykes ultimately shoots him, and he shoots him five times 135 00:06:49,756 --> 00:06:52,019 in front of 21 kids on a bus. 136 00:06:52,063 --> 00:06:54,848 - That's horrible. - Cold-blooded murder 137 00:06:54,892 --> 00:06:55,849 in front of those kids. 138 00:07:05,163 --> 00:07:07,513 - Immediately behind the bus driver is this little kid, 139 00:07:07,557 --> 00:07:11,430 Ethan, just scared, crouched down behind there. 140 00:07:11,474 --> 00:07:14,477 And he's trying to grab the closest kid to him. 141 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:15,695 You can hear Dykes saying... 142 00:07:18,219 --> 00:07:19,699 - "Come here. Come here, kid. Come here." 143 00:07:19,743 --> 00:07:22,572 [children screaming and crying] 144 00:07:30,536 --> 00:07:33,017 Ethan had Asperger's syndrome, 145 00:07:33,060 --> 00:07:35,280 and that was the reason he was in that front seat, 146 00:07:35,323 --> 00:07:37,543 because the driver wanted to keep an eye on him 147 00:07:37,587 --> 00:07:39,502 because he had some issue-- behavioral issues. 148 00:07:39,545 --> 00:07:41,460 So Dykes was able to grab Ethan. 149 00:07:41,504 --> 00:07:44,855 He's five years old, you know, very light kid. 150 00:07:44,898 --> 00:07:48,902 Just throws him over his shoulder and takes off, 151 00:07:48,946 --> 00:07:52,253 runs toward a bunker that he built on his property. 152 00:07:52,297 --> 00:07:54,778 He lived in a FEMA trailer. 153 00:07:54,821 --> 00:07:57,171 The bunker's over here 154 00:07:57,215 --> 00:08:00,348 where the little square hatch is. 155 00:08:00,392 --> 00:08:01,611 And that's when he calls 911. 156 00:08:10,837 --> 00:08:13,753 - The hardest part of that to watch was at the end 157 00:08:13,797 --> 00:08:15,886 when the kids-- he's off the bus, Ethan's gone. 158 00:08:15,929 --> 00:08:17,801 You can see the kids tracking out the window, 159 00:08:17,844 --> 00:08:20,107 then facing forward on Mr. Poland 160 00:08:20,151 --> 00:08:21,587 and losing their minds, 161 00:08:21,631 --> 00:08:23,981 understanding what had just happened. 162 00:08:24,024 --> 00:08:26,157 - But you hadn't gotten called yet? 163 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:30,944 - Right, but we were aware of the kidnapping on the 29th. 164 00:08:35,383 --> 00:08:39,474 - In the 911 call, Dykes directs law enforcement. 165 00:08:39,518 --> 00:08:41,128 He says he has a-- he has a kid. 166 00:08:41,172 --> 00:08:42,608 He's a hostage. 167 00:08:42,652 --> 00:08:45,785 He wants law enforcement to come to his gate 168 00:08:45,829 --> 00:08:49,267 on his road and speak to him through this PVC pipe. 169 00:09:00,234 --> 00:09:01,714 - I remember seeing that on the news. 170 00:09:01,758 --> 00:09:03,107 It was, like, this white thing 171 00:09:03,150 --> 00:09:04,630 coming up out of the ground, right? 172 00:09:04,674 --> 00:09:06,284 - Yeah. We called it the speaking tube. 173 00:09:06,327 --> 00:09:08,808 - What did he say that he wanted? 174 00:09:08,852 --> 00:09:11,637 - It was pretty weird from a violent crime standpoint. 175 00:09:11,681 --> 00:09:13,291 What he wanted was a reporter 176 00:09:13,334 --> 00:09:14,901 who he identified by name-- 177 00:09:14,945 --> 00:09:16,773 so it was someone that he liked, female reporter. 178 00:09:16,816 --> 00:09:19,340 He wanted her to come down into the bunker, 179 00:09:19,384 --> 00:09:21,081 and then he would let Ethan go. 180 00:09:21,125 --> 00:09:24,519 And he said that she would hold his hand while he told his-- 181 00:09:24,563 --> 00:09:26,826 she broadcast his story to the world, 182 00:09:26,870 --> 00:09:29,655 and then he would die by suicide, which is... 183 00:09:29,699 --> 00:09:31,222 - Crazy. - Nuts. 184 00:09:31,265 --> 00:09:32,658 - And of course, the Bureau would never allow that. 185 00:09:32,702 --> 00:09:34,225 - That was a hard no. 186 00:09:34,268 --> 00:09:36,793 But so well thought-out. 187 00:09:36,836 --> 00:09:39,099 That was the scary part. 188 00:09:39,143 --> 00:09:41,536 - This bunker had one entry point, 189 00:09:41,580 --> 00:09:43,103 and we had to get in there quick enough 190 00:09:43,147 --> 00:09:46,237 to save Ethan before Dykes had time to shoot the hostage. 191 00:09:48,021 --> 00:09:50,502 Sometime, I think it was around 9:00 that night, 192 00:09:50,545 --> 00:09:52,591 he's done talking for the day, he goes to bed. 193 00:09:52,635 --> 00:09:54,375 The bomb techs show up. 194 00:09:54,419 --> 00:09:57,161 They decide they want to get visual into the bunker. 195 00:09:57,204 --> 00:10:00,381 They decide they're gonna drill a hole through that pipe 196 00:10:00,425 --> 00:10:03,297 and then send about 200 feet of fiber optic cable 197 00:10:03,341 --> 00:10:05,169 and maybe get a look inside. 198 00:10:05,212 --> 00:10:07,562 Well, when they penetrated that 3-inch pipe, 199 00:10:07,606 --> 00:10:09,782 the drill bit hit something else solid. 200 00:10:09,826 --> 00:10:11,001 - Oy. 201 00:10:11,044 --> 00:10:12,524 - These are bomb techs. - Yeah. 202 00:10:12,567 --> 00:10:16,354 - Their spidey senses went crazy at that point. 203 00:10:16,397 --> 00:10:19,313 So they brought in, of course, an X-ray machine, 204 00:10:19,357 --> 00:10:21,794 X-rayed the pipe, and lo and behold, 205 00:10:21,838 --> 00:10:25,493 inside the pipe was about a 3-foot section of pipe bomb. 206 00:10:32,065 --> 00:10:34,285 - Oh, my God, so they're, like, up close, 207 00:10:34,328 --> 00:10:36,722 you know, talking through this tube, 208 00:10:36,766 --> 00:10:38,158 and then now they're drilling a hole 209 00:10:38,202 --> 00:10:40,160 potentially where a bomb could go off. 210 00:10:40,204 --> 00:10:42,554 So in their minds now, 211 00:10:42,597 --> 00:10:44,904 they gotta think Dykes is pretty smart, right? 212 00:10:44,948 --> 00:10:45,905 - Sure. Sure. 213 00:10:45,949 --> 00:10:47,690 He's very smart. 214 00:10:47,733 --> 00:10:50,083 He's not all there, but he's very smart 215 00:10:50,127 --> 00:10:53,173 in terms of his actions and his planning. 216 00:10:53,217 --> 00:10:54,566 - The pipe bomb in the speaking tube 217 00:10:54,609 --> 00:10:56,002 raised all kinds of questions. 218 00:10:56,046 --> 00:10:57,351 All right, so he's got a hostage, 219 00:10:57,395 --> 00:10:59,005 but does he really want-- does he wanna kill cops? 220 00:10:59,049 --> 00:11:00,224 Is that what he wants? 221 00:11:00,267 --> 00:11:02,008 Did he really have a story to tell? 222 00:11:02,052 --> 00:11:03,618 I mean, the questions at that point 223 00:11:03,662 --> 00:11:06,534 were many more than we had answers. 224 00:11:06,578 --> 00:11:08,928 - Police in Midland City, Alabama, 225 00:11:08,972 --> 00:11:12,236 say a man shot and killed a school bus driver 226 00:11:12,279 --> 00:11:15,326 and then grabbed a 6-year-old boy from the bus 227 00:11:15,369 --> 00:11:17,763 and took him to an underground bunker. 228 00:11:17,807 --> 00:11:21,767 Now, hostage negotiators are trying to end the standoff 229 00:11:21,811 --> 00:11:24,291 that began more than 24 hours ago. 230 00:11:24,335 --> 00:11:27,251 - By the next morning, FBI came down on the scene. 231 00:11:27,294 --> 00:11:29,775 This was 100% a joint effort, 232 00:11:29,819 --> 00:11:31,124 state, federal, local, 233 00:11:31,168 --> 00:11:33,257 probably 300 sworn law enforcement officers. 234 00:11:33,300 --> 00:11:35,781 We didn't want Dykes to know that we knew 235 00:11:35,825 --> 00:11:37,870 there was an IED in the speaking tube. 236 00:11:37,914 --> 00:11:40,133 And we brought up a speaker on a pole, 237 00:11:40,177 --> 00:11:43,571 put it right into the tube 238 00:11:43,615 --> 00:11:45,573 so Dykes would continue to think 239 00:11:45,617 --> 00:11:47,793 someone was talking to him at the speaker. 240 00:11:47,837 --> 00:11:49,229 - That's cool. That's a good idea. 241 00:11:49,273 --> 00:11:50,796 - At that point, what they wanted to do 242 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:54,191 was get a negotiator throw phone into there, 243 00:11:54,234 --> 00:11:56,583 because they could actually call him when they wanted to. 244 00:11:56,628 --> 00:11:57,890 - Knowing the Bureau, 245 00:11:57,934 --> 00:11:59,936 we could probably record it as well, right? 246 00:11:59,979 --> 00:12:01,938 - Sure, sure. Record it... - You know, so--yeah. 247 00:12:01,981 --> 00:12:03,417 - Analyze it for intel, that kind of stuff. 248 00:12:03,461 --> 00:12:04,810 Let us give you this phone. - Okay. 249 00:12:04,854 --> 00:12:06,681 - You can call us whenever you want to. 250 00:12:06,725 --> 00:12:08,814 We'll always have somebody ready to talk to you. 251 00:12:08,858 --> 00:12:11,164 So he agreed. - That was so critical, 252 00:12:11,208 --> 00:12:13,210 not just to communicate with him, 253 00:12:13,253 --> 00:12:15,865 but it established his willingness to open the hatch. 254 00:12:15,908 --> 00:12:19,433 And that was a tremendous victory for the negotiators, 255 00:12:19,477 --> 00:12:21,435 getting that willingness established, 256 00:12:21,479 --> 00:12:24,177 because now, we can start to habituate him 257 00:12:24,221 --> 00:12:26,789 to opening it again on request. 258 00:12:31,881 --> 00:12:34,318 - What does the bunker look like? 259 00:12:34,361 --> 00:12:38,452 - What Dykes had done is he put--the hatch was heavy. 260 00:12:38,496 --> 00:12:40,890 It was heavy. It was built with 2x6s. 261 00:12:40,933 --> 00:12:42,630 So it was stout. 262 00:12:42,674 --> 00:12:44,284 Had a big lip all the way around, 263 00:12:44,328 --> 00:12:46,199 which prevented us from really seeing 264 00:12:46,243 --> 00:12:48,027 down in there very much. 265 00:12:48,071 --> 00:12:51,552 Very large Alabama country boys only lift that hatch 266 00:12:51,596 --> 00:12:53,946 as far as he would let them lift it. 267 00:12:53,990 --> 00:12:55,600 Believe me, he didn't need anything from us. 268 00:12:55,643 --> 00:12:57,732 He had water for weeks. 269 00:12:57,776 --> 00:12:59,125 He had food for weeks. 270 00:12:59,169 --> 00:13:01,388 He had a bucket in there for a toilet. 271 00:13:01,432 --> 00:13:02,737 He had ventilation. 272 00:13:02,781 --> 00:13:04,217 He needed nothing from us. 273 00:13:04,261 --> 00:13:06,219 - He had estimated that he had enough supplies 274 00:13:06,263 --> 00:13:07,351 for six to eight weeks. 275 00:13:07,394 --> 00:13:09,005 - What we did have is we had Ethan. 276 00:13:09,048 --> 00:13:11,050 - Police have shared few details 277 00:13:11,094 --> 00:13:13,879 about negotiations with Jimmy Lee Dykes. 278 00:13:13,923 --> 00:13:16,142 They are speaking to him through a 4-inch 279 00:13:16,186 --> 00:13:19,624 ventilation pipe connected to his underground shelter. 280 00:13:19,667 --> 00:13:23,497 His five-year-old hostage has been identified only as Ethan. 281 00:13:23,541 --> 00:13:26,370 - Ethan had been diagnosed with what was then known 282 00:13:26,413 --> 00:13:28,067 as Asperger syndrome and another condition, 283 00:13:28,111 --> 00:13:29,286 and that's what required 284 00:13:29,329 --> 00:13:30,678 a couple of different medications. 285 00:13:30,722 --> 00:13:33,986 - So the local FBI there was able to contact, 286 00:13:34,030 --> 00:13:35,553 obviously, the mother or father, 287 00:13:35,596 --> 00:13:37,076 or they were able to talk to him and say, 288 00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:38,686 this is what he needs. 289 00:13:38,730 --> 00:13:40,297 - Yes, the mother supplied that information 290 00:13:40,340 --> 00:13:41,646 and the medicine for that. 291 00:13:41,689 --> 00:13:43,604 - But Dykes didn't know this when he took him. 292 00:13:43,648 --> 00:13:45,171 - But as Ethan would start to act up, 293 00:13:45,215 --> 00:13:47,565 it was more work for Dykes. 294 00:13:47,608 --> 00:13:49,654 So negotiators were able to sort of 295 00:13:49,697 --> 00:13:51,308 weave that into the conversation. 296 00:13:51,351 --> 00:13:53,919 Say, hey, if you let us deliver this medicine 297 00:13:53,963 --> 00:13:56,443 twice a day, sometimes it was three times a day, 298 00:13:56,487 --> 00:13:58,315 this will keep him calm. 299 00:13:58,358 --> 00:13:59,925 And he was all about that. 300 00:13:59,969 --> 00:14:01,318 He was all about keeping Ethan calm, 301 00:14:01,361 --> 00:14:03,276 because this bunker is-- it's tight. 302 00:14:06,323 --> 00:14:10,718 So that allowed us to have him open that hatch, 303 00:14:10,762 --> 00:14:13,939 to crack it for-- you know, several times a day, 304 00:14:13,983 --> 00:14:15,245 and we could collect intel 305 00:14:15,288 --> 00:14:16,550 every time it happened. - That's awesome. 306 00:14:19,858 --> 00:14:23,906 - The FBI had this huge operation set up 307 00:14:23,949 --> 00:14:28,214 at this church, Destiny Church, 308 00:14:28,258 --> 00:14:32,958 which is immediately down the road from Dykes' property. 309 00:14:33,002 --> 00:14:35,918 First thing we had to do was shrink that problem down. 310 00:14:35,961 --> 00:14:40,009 There is potential for IEDs all over this property. 311 00:14:40,052 --> 00:14:41,836 We looked at the property, 312 00:14:41,880 --> 00:14:45,362 and there's these pipes sticking up, PVC pipes. 313 00:14:45,405 --> 00:14:47,538 - Do you think they're vents for air or no? 314 00:14:47,581 --> 00:14:48,843 - We don't know. - Right. 315 00:14:48,887 --> 00:14:50,541 - Knowing that he's talked about having IEDs 316 00:14:50,583 --> 00:14:52,456 and booby traps, so we have to clear 317 00:14:52,499 --> 00:14:54,893 that whole area of those IEDs, and we did. 318 00:14:54,937 --> 00:14:59,767 We brought in our canines with explosive detection. 319 00:14:59,811 --> 00:15:01,856 We ultimately didn't find anything 320 00:15:01,900 --> 00:15:06,818 between the speaking tube IED and the hatch of the bunker. 321 00:15:06,861 --> 00:15:09,125 While we were doing that, we collected up 322 00:15:09,168 --> 00:15:11,475 pretty much every piece of garbage we could find. 323 00:15:11,518 --> 00:15:13,216 - And did you guys find anything useful 324 00:15:13,259 --> 00:15:15,696 in the trash cover? - Oh, my goodness, we did. 325 00:15:15,740 --> 00:15:18,743 We did. We found a triggering device. 326 00:15:18,786 --> 00:15:22,051 Like, it was a shotgun taped into a plastic bottle. 327 00:15:22,094 --> 00:15:24,096 We found hundreds of shotgun shells 328 00:15:24,140 --> 00:15:26,490 that had been cut open, the powder removed. 329 00:15:26,533 --> 00:15:28,274 - Okay. - We found PVC pipes, 330 00:15:28,318 --> 00:15:33,366 we found glue, we found receipts for bicycle cables, 331 00:15:33,410 --> 00:15:39,024 propane tanks, eye bolts, all these different things. 332 00:15:39,068 --> 00:15:40,460 And those were all-- all proved to be, like, 333 00:15:40,504 --> 00:15:42,158 a treasure trove of intel 334 00:15:42,201 --> 00:15:44,073 in terms of how this hatch was constructed. 335 00:15:44,116 --> 00:15:46,118 The other thing we did is, every time we went up, 336 00:15:46,162 --> 00:15:47,685 one of our Houston County partners, 337 00:15:47,728 --> 00:15:49,730 who was actually the voice at the bunker 338 00:15:49,774 --> 00:15:51,863 for the whole seven days, the original guy, 339 00:15:51,906 --> 00:15:54,735 we were able to route a camera through his glove, 340 00:15:54,779 --> 00:15:56,694 a little pinhole camera. 341 00:15:56,737 --> 00:15:58,652 So every time he would go to lift that hatch, 342 00:15:58,696 --> 00:16:01,264 he could shoot video under the hatch. 343 00:16:06,095 --> 00:16:09,054 [dramatic music] 344 00:16:09,098 --> 00:16:14,320 ♪ 345 00:16:14,364 --> 00:16:17,149 - A 5-year-old boy is being held at gunpoint 346 00:16:17,193 --> 00:16:19,412 for a third day in a hostage standoff 347 00:16:19,456 --> 00:16:21,327 in Midland City, Alabama. 348 00:16:21,371 --> 00:16:23,677 A 65-year-old man with a history 349 00:16:23,721 --> 00:16:25,418 of violent run-ins with his neighbors 350 00:16:25,462 --> 00:16:27,681 kidnapped the boy from a school bus. 351 00:16:27,725 --> 00:16:30,684 Those neighbors identify him as Jimmy Lee Dykes, 352 00:16:30,728 --> 00:16:33,731 and police say that he shot and killed the bus driver 353 00:16:33,774 --> 00:16:36,038 who tried to shield his students. 354 00:16:36,081 --> 00:16:37,169 - What do you guys do then? 355 00:16:37,213 --> 00:16:38,605 - So what we're driving toward 356 00:16:38,649 --> 00:16:39,911 is a deliberate assault, 357 00:16:39,954 --> 00:16:42,348 which is a planned assault. 358 00:16:42,392 --> 00:16:43,828 So we decide when to go. 359 00:16:43,871 --> 00:16:45,047 - Yeah, it's fatal funnel. 360 00:16:45,090 --> 00:16:46,874 Like, you have a fatal funnel going. 361 00:16:46,918 --> 00:16:49,921 - We wanted our own area to practice our assault, 362 00:16:49,964 --> 00:16:52,184 to refine this deliberate assault option. 363 00:16:52,228 --> 00:16:55,100 The only area they had was a building across the street, 364 00:16:55,144 --> 00:16:58,756 which they described to us as, that's the old strip club. 365 00:16:58,799 --> 00:17:01,715 And within hours, we had a full-scale mock-up built 366 00:17:01,759 --> 00:17:03,587 right behind the strip club. - Wow. 367 00:17:03,630 --> 00:17:10,507 ♪ 368 00:17:14,032 --> 00:17:16,642 - Meantime, while we're doing this, 369 00:17:16,687 --> 00:17:20,125 Molly is developing this profile of our subject. 370 00:17:20,169 --> 00:17:22,954 - When I watched the bus video a few times, 371 00:17:22,997 --> 00:17:26,305 quickly realized that I was coming up with a profile, 372 00:17:26,349 --> 00:17:27,741 or at least the beginnings of a profile 373 00:17:27,785 --> 00:17:29,091 that was really very alarming. 374 00:17:43,017 --> 00:17:45,237 - What I saw was, 375 00:17:45,281 --> 00:17:48,240 I saw Jimmy Lee Dykes wasn't getting what he wanted, 376 00:17:48,284 --> 00:17:49,546 and time was ticking. 377 00:17:49,589 --> 00:17:50,764 You could hear it in his voice. 378 00:18:05,039 --> 00:18:06,998 - Nothing was going according to plan really, 379 00:18:07,041 --> 00:18:08,913 but he stayed on mission. 380 00:18:08,956 --> 00:18:10,567 He was completely focused. 381 00:18:10,610 --> 00:18:13,570 And so I showed that to Bill and I pointed that out to him, 382 00:18:13,613 --> 00:18:16,529 and this guy's already committed a homicide. 383 00:18:16,573 --> 00:18:19,967 I have no reason to think that he wouldn't do it again. 384 00:18:20,011 --> 00:18:21,795 I think that in a confrontation, 385 00:18:21,839 --> 00:18:26,626 he would very likely use lethal force against your guys. 386 00:18:26,670 --> 00:18:29,281 - What did he say that he wanted? 387 00:18:29,325 --> 00:18:31,327 - He wanted to tell his story. 388 00:18:31,370 --> 00:18:34,112 He thought, this reporter will come down into the hole, 389 00:18:34,156 --> 00:18:37,681 and she will broadcast my story as I tell it live, 390 00:18:37,724 --> 00:18:40,597 and the world will essentially be inflamed 391 00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:43,208 and revolution will erupt. 392 00:18:43,252 --> 00:18:48,822 Something having to do with systematic injustices 393 00:18:48,866 --> 00:18:50,520 perpetrated against the little guy 394 00:18:50,563 --> 00:18:54,437 by those with celebrity, power, money, et cetera. 395 00:19:04,490 --> 00:19:07,841 - Yeah, he hated the government or the establishment or... 396 00:19:07,885 --> 00:19:11,410 - He--it's more accurate to say that he hated 397 00:19:11,454 --> 00:19:13,673 any aspect of the establishment or the government 398 00:19:13,717 --> 00:19:15,414 that affected him in a way he didn't like. 399 00:19:29,298 --> 00:19:32,301 - That hostage standoff in Midland City, Alabama, 400 00:19:32,344 --> 00:19:34,259 is going into its fourth day. 401 00:19:34,303 --> 00:19:36,087 The police have been speaking with Dykes 402 00:19:36,130 --> 00:19:37,436 through a ventilation pipe. 403 00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:38,785 No progress so far. 404 00:19:40,787 --> 00:19:42,398 - We did see a change in behavior 405 00:19:42,441 --> 00:19:45,923 because he sort of treated Ethan, 406 00:19:45,966 --> 00:19:47,794 not with kindness, but almost grandfatherly. 407 00:19:47,838 --> 00:19:51,102 He fed him. He made sure he brushed his teeth. 408 00:19:51,145 --> 00:19:52,538 You know, he helped him go to the bathroom, 409 00:19:52,582 --> 00:19:53,539 those kinds of things. 410 00:19:53,583 --> 00:19:56,368 And when Ethan would cry, 411 00:19:56,412 --> 00:19:58,065 he would try to comfort him. 412 00:19:58,109 --> 00:19:59,806 We're always looking along the way 413 00:19:59,850 --> 00:20:02,026 for targets of opportunity that might pop up. 414 00:20:02,069 --> 00:20:05,508 The deputy, he would go up to the hatch every day 415 00:20:05,551 --> 00:20:07,336 and have conversations with Dykes. 416 00:20:07,379 --> 00:20:09,338 And he would complain that the hatch was so heavy, 417 00:20:09,381 --> 00:20:10,991 it was hurting his back. 418 00:20:11,035 --> 00:20:13,080 But he would have to grab the hatch 419 00:20:13,124 --> 00:20:15,605 and do a squat to lift it up to 3 or 4 inches. 420 00:20:15,648 --> 00:20:17,650 It was that heavy. 421 00:20:17,694 --> 00:20:19,739 So they had this conversation a couple of times, 422 00:20:19,783 --> 00:20:24,004 and Dykes explained that he had a frame, 423 00:20:24,048 --> 00:20:28,095 and he says that he can help him attach springs, 424 00:20:28,139 --> 00:20:31,795 and it'll make it easier on the deputy... 425 00:20:31,838 --> 00:20:34,493 - Sure. - To lift that hatch. 426 00:20:34,537 --> 00:20:36,365 We saw that as a target of opportunity. 427 00:20:36,408 --> 00:20:42,022 ♪ 428 00:20:42,066 --> 00:20:43,285 The plan was pretty simple, 429 00:20:43,328 --> 00:20:46,592 that the negotiators would talk to Dykes. 430 00:20:46,636 --> 00:20:48,551 They would accept his offer 431 00:20:48,594 --> 00:20:51,641 to assist in reattaching the springs. 432 00:20:51,684 --> 00:20:53,730 His assistance would involve him coming up 433 00:20:53,773 --> 00:20:55,340 into the access tube, 434 00:20:55,384 --> 00:20:57,777 lifting up from underneath on the hatch. 435 00:20:57,821 --> 00:21:00,084 - So he'd have to be somewhat close 436 00:21:00,127 --> 00:21:02,869 to the top of the ladder or steps or whatever. 437 00:21:02,913 --> 00:21:04,393 - Well, that's what we were thinking. 438 00:21:04,436 --> 00:21:06,699 So we got permission to execute this plan. 439 00:21:06,743 --> 00:21:09,528 We had assaulters staged right at the edge of the hatch, 440 00:21:09,572 --> 00:21:10,529 right at the lip. 441 00:21:20,887 --> 00:21:23,455 Their objective was, if they could get 442 00:21:23,499 --> 00:21:25,414 a clear shot on Dykes, they would take it, 443 00:21:25,457 --> 00:21:27,111 and they would end the problem right there. 444 00:21:27,154 --> 00:21:30,201 But it had to be a game-ending shot, 445 00:21:30,244 --> 00:21:31,333 basically a kill shot. 446 00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:38,949 So we were really inches from getting a clean shot on Dykes 447 00:21:38,992 --> 00:21:40,472 and ending the situation on day five. 448 00:21:45,085 --> 00:21:47,653 But in those fractions of seconds, 449 00:21:47,697 --> 00:21:50,961 he viewed a barrel, a gun barrel, 450 00:21:51,004 --> 00:21:54,094 before our guys could actually get a shot on him. 451 00:21:56,532 --> 00:21:57,881 - Ah, shit. - And he went back down 452 00:21:57,924 --> 00:22:00,187 in a hurry, around the corner, 453 00:22:00,231 --> 00:22:02,451 slammed the hatch, dogged it down. 454 00:22:02,494 --> 00:22:05,236 And this just kind of spiraled him out of control. 455 00:22:05,279 --> 00:22:08,152 Went back to negotiators, "What are you guys doing? 456 00:22:08,195 --> 00:22:12,678 You're trying to kill me. That hero up there." 457 00:22:12,722 --> 00:22:14,767 And he just went off. He just went off. 458 00:22:31,131 --> 00:22:33,699 - This is a game-changer, a turnaround point, right? 459 00:22:33,743 --> 00:22:35,309 - It really was. Shortly after that 460 00:22:35,353 --> 00:22:37,834 is when he gave the first deadline, 461 00:22:37,877 --> 00:22:40,532 where he said, by tomorrow, 5:30, 462 00:22:40,576 --> 00:22:42,534 if I don't get what I want, 463 00:22:42,578 --> 00:22:45,842 the motherfuckers up there who are in charge, 464 00:22:45,885 --> 00:22:48,061 they're gonna be responsible for what happens, 465 00:22:48,105 --> 00:22:50,455 basically implying that he's gonna probably detonate 466 00:22:50,499 --> 00:22:54,285 that IED if he doesn't get what he wants by 5:30 the next day. 467 00:22:54,328 --> 00:22:57,462 - These are some of the behaviors that we call 468 00:22:57,506 --> 00:22:59,943 warning behaviors, that warn that someone 469 00:22:59,986 --> 00:23:02,336 is really on a trajectory towards violence. 470 00:23:02,380 --> 00:23:04,164 - He was a time bomb waiting to go off. 471 00:23:04,208 --> 00:23:06,079 If he really wanted to, 472 00:23:06,123 --> 00:23:08,168 he could turn around and kill Ethan. 473 00:23:22,008 --> 00:23:25,708 - Nothing could dislodge him from his insistence 474 00:23:25,751 --> 00:23:28,014 that he and Ethan were going to die. 475 00:23:32,758 --> 00:23:34,760 - Dykes starts shooting at us, 476 00:23:34,804 --> 00:23:36,153 and it was just a man trap. 477 00:23:36,196 --> 00:23:39,243 We hear this loud explosion behind us. 478 00:23:39,286 --> 00:23:41,854 - I said, Director Mueller, no assumption can be made 479 00:23:41,898 --> 00:23:44,683 that Ethan is safe in his custody even one more minute. 480 00:23:52,212 --> 00:23:54,301 - At that point, we were pretty fucked.