Suspect killed, all hostages freed after 15-hour standoff at Bakersfield bank building
A 15-hour hostage standoff at a bank building in downtown Bakersfield, California, ended early Wednesday morning when FBI personnel fatally shot the suspect, authorities said. The incident, which began Tuesday afternoon, left all 10 hostages safe and raised fresh questions about security in shared commercial spaces.
The suspect, identified as Anthony Scott Searles-Harris, a 41-year-old white man, was pronounced dead at the scene around 4:20 a.m. local time after a team from the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team breached the building, according to Sid Patel, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Sacramento field office.
Police were first dispatched just after 1 p.m. Tuesday to a reported bomb threat at a Chase bank branch on the first floor of a building that also houses the Kern County Superintendent of Schools’ office. Officers found Searles-Harris barricaded inside with “several community members,” authorities said. Some people managed to flee, but 10 employees of the school superintendent’s office were taken hostage — five of whom were tied up. Searles-Harris claimed to have a bomb and said he had attached explosive devices to several hostages.
The standoff drew a massive law enforcement response, including SWAT teams, hostage negotiators, and a bomb squad. The entire surrounding area was evacuated. Officials said the building, owned by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, contains administrative offices for student services on upper floors, with Chase Bank leasing the ground floor.
Negotiators secured the release of two hostages Tuesday evening — one earlier in the evening and another shortly after 9 p.m. — but further talks failed, Patel said, prompting the decision to send in the tactical team.
Searles-Harris was “neutralized” by FBI hostage rescuers at 4:20 a.m. All hostages were evaluated at the scene and reported uninjured.
Patel described Searles-Harris as “no stranger to law enforcement.” He had been dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Army for going absent without leave between 2006 and 2007, and had a criminal record. He was also a registered sex offender, Patel added.
Dr. John Mendiburu, the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, praised the multi-agency response in a statement, saying, “My deepest gratitude goes to our partners at the Bakersfield Police Department, the FBI, and all responding agencies for their professionalism, courage, and commitment to protecting lives.”
The incident has shaken the downtown area and raised concerns about the vulnerability of mixed-use office buildings that house both government offices and retail financial institutions. Similar hostage scenarios have prompted reviews of security protocols in other U.S. cities.
Bakersfield police warned of continued road closures and delays around the bank until Wednesday afternoon. Bakersfield, located about 110 miles north of Los Angeles, is the Kern County seat.