A man, who held hostages in a building in Bakersfield, California that houses a bank branch and school district office, has been shot dead by FBI on Wednesday.
According to the Bakersfield Police Department, the suspect was killed in “an officer-involved shooting involving Federal Bureau of Investigation personnel,” AP reported. Police said the standoff with the suspect ended after 15 hours when officials were called in.
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The police informed that all the 10 hostages, who were school employees, were freed and none of them were harmed in the incident. Standoff in California’s Bakersfield started on Tuesday afternoon when the personnel responded to reports of a bomb threat at the Chase Bank building.
At least two people were released on Tuesday after negotiations with authorities, AP reported. The suspect had surrounded himself inside the building with several people present there.
As the hostage situation unfolded, some roads leading to the area were blocked and nearby buildings, including police headquarters and City Hall were evacuated by the authorities.
“We have every single resource at our disposal out here to bring this to the safest resolution possible,” Bakersfield police Sgt. Eric Celedon had said earlier.
Citizens were cautioned by authorities to stay away from the area as officers managed a perimeter near the building. The suspect remained in contact with the police department’s crisis negotiation team via telephone, AP reported.
JPMorgan Chase’s spokesperson said that the bank’s branch is located on the ground floor of the building where the suspect had taken people hostage and at the time was empty.
