Town Mourns For Slain Bus Driver Amid Standoff

Hundreds of people have turned out at a service to remember an Alabama bus driver who was shot to death trying to protect the young children on his school bus.

Mourners who attended a viewing service at a funeral home Saturday night remembered 66-year-old Charles Albert Poland, Jr., as a humble hero who taught Sunday School and often lent a helping hand to others.

Authorities said Jim Lee Dykes boarded a stopped school bus carrying 21 children Tuesday afternoon and demanded two boys between 6 and 8 years old. When Poland tried to block his way, the gunman shot him several times and took one 5-year-old boy — who police say remains in an underground bunker with Dykes.

School bus driver William Lisenby said Poland "laid down his life to defend those children." His funeral is Sunday.

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