Police engaged in negotiations Tuesday night with a man holding hostages inside a building housing a Chase Bank branch and school district office in the Southern California city of Bakersfield, officials said.
Officers responding to a bomb threat arrived at the scene around 1 p.m. at the Chase Bank building in downtown Bakersfield and discovered a man barricaded inside “along with several community members,” the Bakersfield Police Department said in a statement.
Through negotiations, two hostages were released, and the rest were “in good health,” said city police Sgt. Eric Seledon said.
“We have every resource at our disposal here to get this to the safest possible resolution,” he added.
Nearby buildings, including City Hall and police headquarters, were evacuated, and some roads were temporarily closed, according to officials. Officers set up a perimeter around the building and nearby businesses, authorities said.
Celedon warned the public to stay out of the area, explaining that the situation was still very active.
A JPMorgan Chase spokesman said its branch is located on the ground floor of the building and is currently empty. The company works with the authorities.
The department’s crisis negotiation team was in contact with the suspect by phone.
About a dozen police cars were at the scene along with one tactical vehicle and several emergency responders, and FBI agents were at the scene.
Jacob Davidson, the live streamer known as Dad’s Gone Live, was a block away from the bank at his family’s tattoo shop when he started receiving calls from his subscribers alerting him to a bomb threat.
“I went into the bank parking garage and saw the police go into the back of the bank. This is the largest police presence I’ve ever seen in this city,” Davidson said. “Now I watch them set up shock tents with green, red and yellow markings, and black markings as well, along with a command center a block away.”
By Tuesday night, his live stream through a window in the building captured a woman rocking back and forth before sitting further down the window. Later, hands can be seen waving.
Law enforcement agencies often set up trauma tents — which are color-coded to help classify people based on the severity of injuries — just in case they are needed during an emergency.
Bakersfield Mayor Karen Goh said she is monitoring the situation closely.
“The best way the public can help at this time is to avoid the area and allow law enforcement officers, negotiators and other trained professionals the space and opportunity to carry out their duties safely,” she said in a statement.
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Associated Press reporter Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, contributed.