FBI shoots man dead in California after he takes 10 people hostage in 15-hour standoff | US News

A man who took 10 people hostage in California has been shot dead after a standoff lasting more than 15 hours.

The suspect had barricaded himself inside a building in Bakersfield, which houses a bank and local authority offices, at around 1pm (9pm UK time) on Tuesday.

The suspect was killed at the scene in “an officer-involved shooting” involving FBI personnel, the local police department said in a statement.

Anthony Scott Searles-Harris, 41, was shot and killed around 4.30am (12.30pm UK time), according to Sid Patel, of the FBI’s Sacramento field office.

He added that the suspect had served in the US Army before being discharged for going AWOL (Absent Without Leave), and that he had a history of violence and was a registered sex offender.

“He had tied up five of the hostages on the second floor of the Kern County Superintendent of Schools’ office in the Chase building,” he told reporters at a news conference.

“I will tell you there were multiple IEDs [Improvised Explosive Devices]… that we had to evaluate… but we were able to conclude… they were not a concern to us.”

The standoff began when officers responded to a call of a bomb threat at the four-storey Chase Bank building, prompting a massive law enforcement response that involved crisis negotiators and the FBI.

The department’s crisis negotiation team talked with the suspect by telephone and eventually two hostages were released Tuesday night, police said.

After the suspect was shot dead, the other hostages were found in the building unharmed and received medical care at the scene.

Bakersfield is about 100 miles (160km) northwest of Los Angeles, on the southern edge of California’s San Joaquin Valley.

Jeremy Blakemore, assistant chief with the Bakersfield Police Department, told reporters it was not clear why Searles-Harris had targeted the building, nor was there a clear motive for taking people hostage.

But he said the suspect had discussed with negotiators about a previous court case, and investigations were continuing into at least one YouTube video he had posted online, but did not elaborate further.

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A spokesperson for Chase Bank told Sky’s US partner, NBC News, that the branch, on the ground floor of that building, was empty and not involved in the standoff.

The area surrounding the building remained closed on Wednesday morning and police had urged people to avoid the area.

Nearby buildings, including City Hall and the police headquarters, were evacuated and some roads temporarily shut during the hostage situation.