FBI Fatally Shoots Hostage-Taker in Bakersfield, California, Ending Standoff
In Bakersfield, California, a man identified as Anthony Scott Searles-Harris was shot and killed by FBI personnel after taking 10 school employees hostage in a downtown office building. The standoff lasted nearly 16 hours, during which Searles-Harris claimed to have explosives strapped to himself and some hostages. The hostages, employees of the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, were unharmed. Searles-Harris, a registered sex offender and Army veteran dishonorably discharged, had a history of legal troubles. The FBI and local police stormed the building after negotiations failed, and Searles-Harris was shot around 4:20 a.m. The motive behind the hostage situation remains unclear, though it involved grievances related to a previous legal case.