By Cecil Egbele | Contributing Writer | California Local News Fellow
All ten hostages taken during a tense, 16-hour standoff at the Chase Bank building in downtown Bakersfield on Tuesday are safe and reunited with their families after the suspect was shot and killed by the FBI.
The ordeal began at approximately 1 p.m. Tuesday, when police received calls reporting an armed man with explosives had entered the Chase Bank building at 1515 17th Street. The suspect, identified as Anthony Scott Harris, 41, barricaded himself on the second floor — where employees of the Kern County Superintendent of Schools were working — and took 10 people hostage.
Authorities confirmed Harris had explosive devices attached to his own body and had strapped additional devices to some of the hostages.
Bakersfield PD immediately evacuated surrounding businesses while crisis negotiators made contact with Harris. Two hostages were released through that process — one at approximately 4 p.m. and a second around 8:30 p.m. — in exchange for food, water, and materials related to a prior court case Harris was fixated on.
It’s unclear when negotiations stalled; however, at 9 p.m., the police requested federal assistance.
The FBI assumed operational control with SWAT teams from Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. They included analysts, bomb technicians, crisis negotiators, victim specialists, and tactical teams.
By 2 a.m., the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) — an elite tactical unit flown in overnight from its base in Quantico, Virginia — had taken command of the scene.
At approximately 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday, the HRT shot and killed Harris.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Sid Patel said that a diabetic hostage in medical distress was a key factor in the decision to move when they did.
The police said Harris had a documented criminal history, including a dishonorable discharge from the U.S. Army and a 2014 conviction for a sex offense involving a child. Investigators say he appeared motivated largely by grievances over how that prior case was handled.
The investigation remains ongoing. Updates will be posted to the Bakersfield Police Department’s social media platforms.
