SAEDNEWS: Man Barricades Himself With Unknown Number of Hostages at California Building Following Bomb Threat Reports
According to Saednews, Several community members were inside a downtown Bakersfield location during an ongoing police incident, according to police spokesperson Sally Selby. She said crisis negotiators were working to resolve the situation peacefully, NBC News reported.
In an update posted on X shortly after 9 p.m. local time, police confirmed that a second hostage had been released. The first hostage had been freed earlier, shortly before 5 p.m.
Authorities reported that no injuries have been confirmed. Selby added that members of the Bakersfield Police Department’s Crisis Negotiation Team were in communication with the barricaded suspect.
Police Sergeant Eric Celedon previously stated that both local crisis negotiators and FBI negotiators had secured the release of a hostage, and that the remaining hostages were in good health.
Although police initially identified the location as the “Chase Bank building,” a Chase spokesperson clarified that the bank branch itself was not involved and was empty at the time. The building contains various unrelated offices alongside the bank branch, which has prominent signage at the site.
Officers responded to the building in the 1500 block of 17th Street around 1 p.m. after reports of a bomb threat. After arriving, police established a perimeter, and some individuals inside were able to leave safely, Selby said.
The surrounding area was evacuated, and roads were closed until further notice. In a video posted on Instagram, Celedon urged the public to avoid the area, describing it as an active scene.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ San Francisco field office confirmed that resources were being deployed to assist in Bakersfield.
Mayor Karen Goh said she was monitoring the situation and asked residents to keep those involved in their thoughts, praising the coordination among law enforcement agencies.
A spokesperson for JPMorganChase stated that the company’s priority was the safety of everyone involved and that it was cooperating with law enforcement. Another representative later clarified that the incident did not involve the Chase Bank branch itself, which is located in the same building alongside a substance abuse facility and a county child development center.
Bakersfield, a city of about 422,000 people, is located roughly 113 miles north of Los Angeles in California’s San Joaquin Valley, an important agricultural region.
