Police, SWAT teams and negotiators were camped out at a rural property where a suspect was believed to be holed up in a homemade bunker Wednesday after fatally shooting a school bus driver. He had reportedly fled with a 6-year-old child passenger, authorities said.
The ordeal began as the man boarded the stopped school bus in the town of Midland City on Tuesday afternoon and shot the driver when he refused to let the child off the bus. The driver later died of his wounds and his identity has yet to be released. The shooter then took the child, authorities said. The coroner said the victim, who was in his mid-60s, died of multiple gunshot wounds.
There ensued an overnight standoff, which continued through early Wednesday with tactical units, negotiators and other officers at the scene beside a nearby church. The suspect was believed to set up an underground shelter on his property.
"Authorities also confirmed the presence of a child at the scene but are giving no further information at this time," Rachel David, a spokeswoman for the police department in the nearby city of Dothan, said in a news release late Tuesday. One resident of the area who arrived quickly on the scene said he tried to chase the suspect before he realized that the gunman had taken cover in his own private bunker.
The sheriff's department said multiple agencies were assisting with the incident, and local schools would be closed today.
The AP helped contribute to this story.
