Authorities Tight-Lipped as Standoff Over Child Hostage Enters 5th Day
The bunker has electricity so it could have access to media or the internet as well.
The suspect, who police have identified as Dykes, is holed up in a bunker 4 feet underground and built at least partially out of PVC pipe, authorities have said.
A hostage negotiator has been communicating with the alleged gunman through a 60-foot-long plastic ventilation pipe in an effort to end the standoff.
Authorities believe the boy is physically unharmed.
The suspect agreed to let police send down coloring books, crayons and prescription medication that the boy needs for treatment for Asperger’s syndrome and attention deficit disorder, State Rep. Steve Clouse told CNN.
Neighbors have said the bunker has electricity, and Dykes has been known to stay in it for up to eight days, said James Arrington, the police chief in nearby Pinckard.
Dykes has been described as a self-styled survivalist with “anti-government” views, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Hatewatch.
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