[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Anchor:] Erin, thanks very much. Good evening, everyone. We begin tonight with breaking news. A little boy safe tonight. His armed captor and alleged killer dead. Jimmy Lee Dykes grabbed the boy from a school bus six days ago. Police say he shot the driver of that bus dead. After holding the boy in a bunker for nearly a week, talking with authorities through a PVC pipe, things began breaking down.
[Steve Richardson, Fbi Special Agent In Charge:] Within the past 24 hours, negotiations deteriorated and Mr. Dykes was observed was observed holding a gun. At this point, FBI agents, fearing the child was in imminent danger, entered the bunker and rescued the child.
[Cooper:] The operation went down at 12 minutes past 3:00 local time in Alabama. Now all this played out in Midland City, Alabama, where Martin Savidge is tonight. Martin, what's the latest?
[Martin Savidge, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, what we know, Anderson, is that the little boy, of course, has been rescued and that the gunman is dead. Ethan is the 5-year-old, by the way. And we should point out here that, as you said, law enforcement noted that there was a sense that things were breaking down, at least with that gunman. They said that Dykes was apparently getting more and more irrational. And they also saw him with a gun in a way that they thought was threatening to the little boy. So they wasted no more time. They moved in. As you point out, they have had hostage rescue teams standing by around the clock, ready to move at a moment's notice. That notice was given. There was apparently an explosion. Whether it was a distraction or whether that was the entry, they made their way in, there was gunfire, Dykes was killed and the boy was rescued. We should also point out that the Pentagon was involved in some level here. Apparently Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta okayed the use of special equipment used for monitoring. They won't say in any specific way. That would have meant that military personnel were also on site but they weren't part of the takedown. But it does show you, Anderson, that concern for this little boy went almost all the way to the top of this administration.
[Cooper:] Martin, I know there's a lot we don't know at this hour about the exact details of how this went down but authorities said they observed this man with holding a gun. Do we know how they were able to actually observe him? Because we've been told all along they've just been communicating through this PVC piping.
[Savidge:] Right. And apparently they've been doing a lot more than just talking through a pipe. I mean we have been told now that there may have been surveillance of some sort, video surveillance. We also have heard maybe the use of drones was part of that surveillance. So there was a lot of high-tech equipment that was brought to bear as well as a lot of manpower. There's just plenty of people out there, hundreds maybe at some point, all surrounding this area and all in some way taking part in the operation.
[Cooper:] Is it any clearer at this hour, Martin, about why this man Dykes took this boy off this bus?
[Savidge:] Well, there was a little bit of a hint that came before all of this went down. About mid-morning there was a press conference that was held by the sheriff. And he gave the first indication of a motive. And essentially what he said was that Dykes had something he wanted to communicate. And then the sheriff said but it's kind of complicated and we're trying to figure out a way, a forum for him to securely be able to do that. So it appears that Dykes had a message of some sort to deliver. But now it also appears that he never had the chance to do it.
[Cooper:] And this boy, Ethan, and that's the only we only know his first name, he apparently has Asperger's syndrome. How is he tonight?
[Savidge:] Well, he was transported to the hospital in Dothan, that's just a couple of miles down the road. And witnesses say that when they saw him being taken in, he was sitting upright. The ambulance that he had been riding in, the gurney was being tilted upright. So that's a pretty good sign. And the authorities also say that he physically was fine. Of course, many people are going to wonder mentally how he is after six, seven days of that long ordeal. But he's back with his family and that's the best medicine of all.
[Cooper:] Yes, it certainly is. And we should point out just because because of the age of the child and what he's been through, we are we are not reporting his last name out of concerns for his privacy. Marty, appreciate that. Tonight we want to dig deeper into what this 5-year-old boy, Ethan, might have gone through in the last six days. It is hard to imagine putting yourself in that situation, not to mention what he witnessed during his abduction. He is just 5 years old. We also want to try to explore what happens next, but also what played out in the negotiations and the rescue operation. Joining us Alabama state senator, Harri Anne Smith, who was with Ethan's mother when the call came in that he was alive. Also Michael Senn, a pastor in the Midway Assembly of God who counseled the children who witnessed the shooting on the bus and the abduction. And also joining us, former FBI hostage negotiator, Chris Voss. Senator Smith, I want to start off with you. You were there when Ethan's mother got the phone call. Can you describe that moment?
[Harri Anne Smith, Alabama State Senator:] It was a great moment. I mean, she was being whisked away. I was driving up for my afternoon visit with her and she was being whisked away at this point now I know to meet with her to be reunited with her son. She hugged my neck. She thanked me and she was a little nervous but there were smiles all around. So I knew something was going on. And then later learned she was being reunited with the little boy. So lots of smiles. I'm sure lots of hugs and lots of kisses going on right now.
[Cooper:] Yes, I can imagine. Senator Smith, has to your knowledge, was she able to communicate at all with her son or anyone from the family being able to communicate directly with her son over the last several days?
[Smith:] You know, that's a question for law enforcement. I know that they kept her very well briefed, let her know what was going on. She had complete faith in what law enforcement was doing and was just very grateful that they were keeping her informed of what was going on. She got briefs about his condition, that he was doing well, and she complied with what they asked her to do.
[Cooper:] And, Pastor Senn, I know you counseled a number of the children on the bus when Ethan was originally taken off and that bus driver was shot. I can't imagine what those children saw, what they witnessed, if they saw the bus driver shot. What did they tell you? What did you say to them?
[Pastor Michael Senn, Midway Assembly Of God:] Well, they of course, it was very shocking by the time I got there. It was about 35 minutes after it happened. And they were still, you know, so much in shock, they wasn't saying a whole lot. But they did explain to me how the gentleman had come on the bus and had asked for two hostages, actually. And had told some of them to get off of the bus. And then actually he got ahold of this young man. But, you know, they were still in shock so much, they couldn't say a whole lot. All I could do really was just, you know, love them, comfort them, and had an opportunity also to pray with some of them before they left.
[Cooper:] What age were these kids? I mean, were they all in the 5-year-old age range that Ethan was in?
[Senn:] Well, there was actually several different ages on the bus. This is a small community. And from my understanding, this bus picked up kids from the elementary school, the middle school as well as the high school. So I know that a few of them that I talked to was 12 and 13 years old. So there had to be a pretty good variation of the age group on this bus.
[Cooper:] Well, and Chris Voss is joining us now. Chris, from a negotiator standpoint, what do you make of how this operation went down?
[Chris Voss, Former Fbi Hostage Negotiator:] Well, Anderson, from a negotiation standpoint, they did a great job. From the very beginning, negotiators effectively they put a stethoscope on the situation and they monitored the threat level. They think about every single word that the hostage taker says. They think about its context and they get a really good handle on his emotional state, what direction it's going and they start to predict what the negative indicators are, what the warning signs are, if it should begin to get out of hand. They started to see this over the weekend. They realize that this sort of tactical action was probably going to be necessary and they supported the tactical action that the hostage rescue team took. It was a great textbook case.
[Cooper:] And, Chris, when I heard about the you know, when you see the graphic of this bunker, the layout of it, any kind of tactical operation has got to be extraordinary difficult. I mean, it seems like there's really only one entrance point into this bunker. That's got to complicate the negotiations and complicate the planning for any kind of operation.
[Voss:] Right. Yes. It certainly seems that way. I mean, that was at the beginning of any one of these situations there's really three teams that swing into action at the very beginning and work the entire time. The negotiators began to find out as much information as they can. And they'll discuss things in a way that helps them find out the exact layout on the inside and where the hostage taker has things placed. As technical people they begin to work on getting microphones and cameras inside or finding a way to see things. And then all that information is then fed to the tactic al people who prepare for an assault. And they talk to the negotiators all along the way and the negotiators let them know how they might be able to support a tactical action if they have to take it. So really three separate teams all attack the site at the same time in their own way so that they can all get to an outcome that was just like this one tonight.
[Cooper:] Pastor Senn, I'm wondering if you knew this man Dykes and or if you other people in the community have told you their impressions of him.
[Senn:] I never had a chance to meet him. But I know of several folks in the neighborhood that had had some confrontations with him previously in the past, said that he was a man that was they kind of patrolled his area, walked up and down his property line at night, and some even said carrying guns and just you know, real watchful over his property, didn't want anybody to get on his property. And you know I've heard several different stories of people that have conflict with him in the past but I never had the opportunity to meet him before.
[Cooper:] And, Chris, this man Dykes had a court case that he was facing based on an altercation he'd had with a neighbor in the recent past. Again, that's also got to complicate any kind of negotiations because if that is I mean, we don't know for a fact but I would assume that pending court case maybe had something to do with his taking a hostage or his feeling under pressure to some regard. So when you're negotiating, how do you try to deal with the reality of what this guy is facing? How do you talk to him and try to kind of relay his concerns?
[Voss:] Well, Anderson, you're right. That probably was the triggering event with all the stress and strain that he built up in his own mind in advance. That actually gives the negotiators something to talk about. Anything and everything becomes a topic for negotiators to begin to talk to a subject like this about, to find out what makes him tick, to get his perspective on it. You know, the comment was made earlier today by the sheriff that they were trying to give him essentially a forum to express his views and a safe environment to do it in. That was the approach that they were taking. And while they're doing do it, they gather as much information about him as they can.
[Cooper:] And Senator Smith, I know Ethan is just two days away from his 6th birthday. I can't imagine a better birthday present for him and for his family certainly than to have him safe and reunited tonight. What's your message to the community? I mean, how does the community go about recovering from something like this, healing from something like this?
[Smith:] Listen, this is a very strong faith-based community. They've pulled together during this and have just there's been an outpouring of love. And I know Ethan's mom was very appreciative of all the prayers, very appreciative of the support from all the volunteers. And they were just praying for a very peaceful outcome to this situation. And I know that tonight that the family is just so glad to have Ethan back home with them. And we want to thank everyone who had anything to do with that. Law enforcement did a wonderful job here.
[Cooper:] It's been an incredibly tense number of days for law enforcement, family members and the whole community. Senator Smith, I appreciate you being with us. Pastor Senn and Chris Voss, as well.
[Smith:] Sure. Thank you.
[Cooper:] Let us know what you think about this operation, how it went down, let me know on Twitter, @AndersonCooper. Be tweeting tonight. Coming up next, how will the little boy comes to terms at such a terrible ordeal? I mean, it's hard to imagine being 5 years old, witnessing this, going through it yourself. I'm going to be joined by Katie Beers who, you may remember, she survived 17 days of underground captivity when she was a child. We'll talk to her ahead.