Officials: Suspect Fired First in Alabama Bunker Raid

By Matthew DeLuca and Gabe Gutierrez, NBC News

Credit: FBI

A tent covers the bunker where where a 5-year-old child was rescued by law enforcement after being held for nearly a week. FBI agents placed the blue tent over the bunker to protect evidence below.

February 6, 2013 Updated Feb 6, 2013 at 9:57 AM PDT

Federal investigators late Tuesday revealed that they have found explosives in the bunker where a 5-year-old Alabama boy was held hostage for nearly a week -- and that the kidnapper was killed only after opening fire first himself.

According to a law enforcement source close to the investigation, two explosives -- one inside the bunker and one in the ventilation pipe -- were found at the scene.

The source said four members of the rescue team approached the bunker's hatch Monday, where the captor, 65-year-old Jimmy Lee Dykes, was expecting a delivery.

He had received food and other items intended for the boy in previous days. This time, however, the team opened the hatch and dropped a "distractionary device" -- more commonly known as a flashbang.

Dykes was disoriented, but managed to fire off one shot. The rescue team fired back -- shooting Dykes dead -- and saved the boy.

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