On Tuesday, a terrifying hostage situation unfolded in Bakersfield, California. A man who reportedly had a bomb strapped to his chest took ten hostages at a Chase Bank downtown.
Law enforcement quickly responded and began negotiations with the suspect. After a 15-hour standoff, FBI agents stormed the bank early Wednesday morning and fatally shot Anthony Scott Searles-Harris, age 41. All 10 hostages were found unharmed inside the building.
Searles-Harris, identified by authorities as the suspect, was a registered sex offender with prior convictions for sexual crimes involving minors under the age of 14. He was also an Army veteran dishonorably discharged in 2007 for going AWOL.
Bakersfield Assistant Police Chief Jeremy Blakemore stated that Searles-Harris barricaded himself on the second floor of the bank, which also housed the Kern County Superintendent of Schools office. All hostages were school employees. During the standoff, Searles-Harris tied up half the hostages and made demands related to an earlier case, expressing concerns about how his previous case had been handled, including sentencing.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Sid Patel confirmed that Searles-Harris told police he had a bomb strapped to his chest and attached explosives to five hostages. However, after testing, authorities found no active threat. Patel noted one hostage was diabetic and without medication at risk when her phone battery died during the standoff.
“I’m sure there’ll be mental scars that they’re living with, and we’ll have our victim specialist to help them,” Patel said.
California Department of Justice records show Searles-Harris was convicted in 2014 for sexual crimes involving a child under 14 and released from prison in 2018. Court filings indicate he filed domestic violence petitions and was involved in divorce proceedings dating back to 2009, including a fight for guardianship of a minor. The suspect was killed around 4:20 a.m. Wednesday.
