FBI Fatally Shoots Hostage-Taker After 12-Hour Standoff in Bakersfield

A man who held hostages inside a downtown Bakersfield office building for approximately 12 hours was shot and killed by FBI agents early Wednesday, according to police. The standoff began Tuesday afternoon when officers responded to a bomb threat at the Chase Bank building, a four-story structure that also houses a school district office.

The suspect had barricaded himself inside with several people.

Through negotiations, two hostages were released Tuesday night. The remaining hostages were found unharmed after the shooting, the Bakersfield Police Department said in a statement.

The suspect was killed in an officer-involved shooting involving FBI personnel.

Nearby buildings, including City Hall and the police headquarters just a block away, were evacuated. Roads were temporarily closed, and a perimeter was established.

Bakersfield police Sgt. Eric Celedon said, "We have every single resource at our disposal out here to bring this to the safest resolution possible."

Jacob Davidson, a livestreamer known as Dad's Gone Live, was at his family's tattoo shop a block away when he heard about the bomb threat. He went to the bank's parking garage and watched police enter the back of the bank, calling it "the biggest police presence I've ever seen in this town." His livestream captured a woman rocking back and forth inside the building before crouching below a window; later, two hands could be seen waving.

Bakersfield, a city of about 380,000 residents, is the seat of largely rural Kern County and is about 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles. A spokesperson for JPMorgan Chase confirmed the bank branch on the ground floor was empty and that the company was working with authorities.