An FBI agent shot and killed a bomb-carrying man on Wednesday inside an office building in Bakersfield, California, ending a daylong hostage situation in which the suspect strapped explosives to his captives.
Authorities said the agent fatally shot suspect Anthony Scott Searles-Harris, an Army veteran-turned-felon, at about 4:30 a.m.
Police said the hostages walked out of the downtown building, which houses public school offices and a Chase Bank branch, unharmed, soon afterward.
“We’re incredibly relieved to report that all of the hostages that were involved have been safely recovered and reunited with their families,” Bakersfield Police Assistant Chief Jeremy Blakemore said at a press conference.
“There were a total of 10 members of our community whose lives were changed yesterday unexpectedly, but we are thankful that they have been reunited with their loved ones after this ordeal,” he said.
FBI Sacramento’s Special Agent in Charge Sid Patel said the agency’s elite Hostage Rescue Team flew in from Quantico, Virginia, to take down the suspect early Wednesday.
Officials said they observed the bomb that Searles-Harris had strapped to himself, as well as the explosives he had tied to the hostages. Some of the hostages were members of the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, although police said they did not appear to be targeted by the suspect.
One of the hostages was communicating with authorities while on the inside, Mr. Patel said, until her phone died.
Mr. Patel said the woman was diabetic and risked a life-threatening medical emergency if she didn’t get help soon.
Authorities said those factors, as well as the suspect’s erratic behavior, convinced them to take the shot before dawn Wednesday.
Most of Searles-Harris’ concerns centered around his criminal record, officials said. The 41-year-old had prior convictions for armed violent crimes and sex acts with a child under 14.
“There were specific elements that he was very frustrated,” Assistant Chief Blakemore said. “He had some concerns related to how his previous cases or cases had been handled and what the aftermath of that was, the sentencing and those types of things.”
The FBI said Searles-Harris served in the U.S. Army from 2006 to 2007, when he was dishonorably discharged for going AWOL.
Police were originally called to the bank at about 1 p.m. Tuesday for a man making bomb threats.
Negotiators secured the release of two hostages on Tuesday during their conversations with Searles-Harris. But authorities stressed that “several community members” remained trapped in the building as the barricade stretched into a second day.
Bakersfield authorities said they locked down City Hall, the police headquarters and several other government buildings due to the threat.
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