FBI agents shot hostage-taker who held 10 people in California office building

A 41-year-old armed man held 10 people hostage for 16 hours in a Bakersfield, California office building before being killed by FBI agents. The suspect had a criminal record including violent offenses.

FBI Agents Kill Hostage-Taker After 16-Hour Standoff in California

FBI agents shot and killed a 41-year-old man early Wednesday morning after he held ten people hostage for approximately sixteen hours inside a downtown Bakersfield, California office building. The suspect had barricaded himself on the second floor with explosives and claimed to have attached explosive devices to some of the hostages.

The building houses offices for the Kern County Superintendent of Schools as well as a Chase bank branch. All ten hostages were employees of the school district. The other workers and clients in the four-story building evacuated while police secured the surrounding area.

Jeremy Blakemore, deputy chief of the Bakersfield Police Department, told reporters that officers found the suspect had sealed himself inside an office with multiple people. The man informed responding officers that he had strapped explosives to himself. "He also told law enforcement that he had attached explosives to several of the hostages, which we were able to confirm through our own observations," Blakemore added.

Authorities did not name a motive. Blakemore stated that the school district employees did not appear to have been intentionally targeted.

The FBI identified the suspect as 41-year-old Anthony Scott Searles-Harris. Sid Patel, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Sacramento office, said Searles-Harris had a criminal history that included violent crimes and that he was a registered sex offender. Patel also confirmed the man had served in the U.S. Army in 2006 and 2007 but was discharged for unauthorized absence.

The FBI mobilized extensive resources for the operation, including more than 100 agents, SWAT teams from Los Angeles and Sacramento, bomb technicians, and an elite hostage rescue team from the agency's Quantico, Virginia headquarters. The suspect was shot shortly after 4:20 a.m. Wednesday, nearly sixteen hours after the initial report.

Patel said the agency continues to examine the devices found with Searles-Harris. "At this point, we have concluded that they do not pose a danger to us," he stated.

John Mendiburu, Kern County Superintendent of Schools, praised the composure shown by staff members throughout the ordeal. "What happened was undoubtedly a terrifying and disturbing experience, and the calmness our colleagues demonstrated during the sixteen-hour ordeal was extraordinary," he said in a statement.

Source: 444.hu

Source: 444