Police were locked in negotiations Tuesday night with a man holding hostages inside a building that houses a Chase bank branch and school district office in the Southern California city of Bakersfield, officials said.
Officers responding to a call of a bomb threat arrived at the scene around 1 p.m. at the Chase Bank building in downtown Bakersfield, and discovered a man had barricaded himself inside 鈥渨ith several community members,鈥� the Bakersfield Police Department said in a statement.
Through negotiations, two of the hostages were released and the rest are in 鈥済ood health,鈥� city police Sgt. Eric Celedon said.
鈥淲e have every single resource at our disposal out here to bring this to the safest resolution possible,鈥� he said.
Nearby buildings were evacuated, including city hall and the police headquarters, and some roads were temporarily closed, according to officials. Officers established a perimeter around the building and nearby businesses, authorities said.
Celedon warned the public to stay out of the area, explaining that this is still a very active situation.
A spokesperson for JPMorgan Chase said its branch is on the ground floor of the building and is currently empty. The company is working with authorities.
The department’s crisis negotiation team was in contact with the suspect by telephone.
About a dozen police cars were on scene along with one tactical vehicle and multiple emergency responders, and FBI agents were on the scene.
Jacob Davidson, a livestreamer known as Dad鈥檚 Gone Live, was a block from the bank at his family鈥檚 tattoo shop when he started getting calls from his subscribers alerting him to the bomb threat.
鈥淚 went into the bank鈥檚 parking garage and watched the cops enter the back of the bank. This is the biggest police presence I鈥檝e ever seen in this town,鈥� Davidson said. 鈥淣ow I鈥檓 watching them set up the trauma tents with the green, red and yellow tags, and black tags too, along with a command center about a block away.鈥�
By Tuesday night, his livestream captured through a window in the building a woman rocking back and forth before crouching further down below the window. Later, two hands could be seen waving.
Law enforcement agencies often protectively set up trauma tents 鈥� which are color-coded to help sort people based on the severity of injuries 鈥� just in case they become needed during an emergency situation.
Bakersfield Mayor Karen Goh said she is closely monitoring the situation.
鈥淭he best way the public can help at this time is by avoiding the area and allowing law enforcement officers, negotiators, and other trained professionals the space and opportunity to safely carry out their duties,鈥� she said in a statement.
___
Associated Press reporter Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, contributed.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
