An FBI agent fatally shot a man who had been holding 10 hostages inside a Southern California building Wednesday, ending a standoff that stretched beyond 15 hours, police said.
Authorities later identified the suspect as an Army veteran and convicted sex offender who had barricaded himself on the premises along with several people and multiple explosive devices.
The standoff in downtown Bakersfield began Tuesday afternoon when officers responded to a bomb threat at the Chase Bank building, which also housed local school district offices.
Bakersfield Police identified the man as 41-year-old Anthony Scott Searles-Harris. Officials said he had expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome of a previous criminal case.
Officials said Searles-Harris served in the U.S. Army from 2006 to 2007 before receiving a dishonorable discharge for going AWOL. The FBI added that he had a prior history with law enforcement, including a 2014 charge for having sex with a minor, and was a registered sex offender.
At least five of the hostages were employees of the Kern County Superintendent of Schools. The FBI said they were tied up on the building’s second floor.
The department’s crisis negotiation team reached the suspect by telephone, and two hostages were released Tuesday night, police said. All remaining hostages escaped injury and received medical attention at the scene.
Officials evacuated nearby buildings, including city hall and police headquarters, and temporarily closed several roads. Officers established a perimeter around the building and surrounding businesses.
A JPMorgan Chase spokesperson said the bank’s branch occupies the ground floor of the building and was empty at the time. The company cooperated with authorities throughout the incident.
Roughly a dozen police cars were on scene, alongside one tactical vehicle, multiple emergency responders, and FBI agents.
Jacob Davidson, a livestreamer known as Dad’s Gone Live, was a block away at his family’s tattoo shop when subscribers began calling to alert him to the bomb threat.
“I went into the bank’s parking garage and watched the cops enter the back of the bank. This is the biggest police presence I’ve ever seen in this town,” Davidson said. “Now I’m watching them set up the trauma tents with the green, red and yellow tags, and black tags too, along with a command center about a block away.”
By Tuesday night, his livestream captured a woman through a building window rocking back and forth before crouching below the sill. Shortly after, two hands appeared waving from the same window.
Law enforcement agencies routinely set up color-coded trauma tents during emergencies to help sort individuals by the severity of their injuries, keeping them ready in case they are needed.
Bakersfield Mayor Karen Goh said she was closely monitoring the situation.
“The best way the public can help at this time is by avoiding the area and allowing law enforcement officers, negotiators, and other trained professionals the space and opportunity to safely carry out their duties,” she said in a statement.
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