Man Wearing Explosives Killed By FBI After 15-Hour CA Standoff, 10 Hostages Free

BAKERSFIELD, CA — A man wearing explosives who barricaded himself inside a Bakersfield office building while holding 10 people hostage was shot and killed Wednesday by the FBI, bringing the more than 15-hour standoff to an end, according to authorities. None of the hostages was injured, officials said.

The incident began around 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Chase Bank building in the area of 17th Street and Chester Avenue, police said. Anthony Scott Searles-Harris, 41, barricaded himself on the second floor with 10 employees of the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, according to authorities.

Searles-Harris tied up some of the hostages and attached explosives to them, according to law enforcement. He released one hostage around 4 p.m. and another at about 8:30 p.m., but negotiations stalled and the FBI took over the scene at 9 p.m., Bakersfield Assistant Chief Jeremy Blakemore said in a news conference Wednesday on Instagram.

Sid Patel, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Sacramento Field Office, said in the news conference that 150 personnel from the federal agency assisted in the response and a hostage rescue team neutralized Searles-Harris around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday. Searles-Harris was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

One factor that brought additional urgency to ending the standoff was the knowledge that one of the hostages had diabetes and could die if authorities didn’t act, according to Patel.

Searles-Harris is an Army veteran who was dishonorably discharged in 2007, has a criminal history of using weapons to commit violent offenses, and is a registered sex offender who was charged in 2014 with committing sex acts with a child under 14, Patel said.

Blakemore noted it does not appear Searles-Harris specifically intended to target the superintendent’s office.

In a prepared statement published in full by KGET, Superintendent John Mendiburu said his office will provide resources for affected employees in the weeks to come.

“What unfolded was undoubtedly a terribly frightening and unsettling experience, and the composure our employees demonstrated throughout the 16-hour ordeal was extraordinary,” he said in the statement.

“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.”