A terrifying hostage situation unfolded in Bakersfield, California on Tuesday when Anthony Scott Searles-Harris, a registered sex offender and former U.S. Army veteran, took ten hostages at a Chase Bank downtown.
According to law enforcement, Searles-Harris, 41, barricaded himself inside the bank after tying up half of the hostages and claimed he had a bomb strapped to his chest. He also reportedly attached explosive devices to five of the hostages.
After a 15-hour standoff that ended early Wednesday morning, FBI agents stormed the building and fatally shot Searles-Harris around 4:20 a.m. All ten hostages were found unharmed inside the bank, which also houses the Kern County Superintendent of Schools office on its second floor.
Authorities confirmed Searles-Harris had a history of criminal activity, including being dishonorably discharged from the Army in 2007 for going AWOL and having been convicted in 2014 of sexual crimes involving minors under age 14. He was released from prison in 2018.
A hostage who communicated with law enforcement via phone until her battery died was diabetic and without her medication at the time but sustained no injuries. Bakersfield Assistant Police Chief Jeremy Blakemore stated that Searles-Harris had made demands related to a previous case, including concerns about how it was handled and sentencing. The FBI confirmed there were no active explosives in the building after testing.