FBI agents fatally shoot man holding hostages in California building, police say

Published on 03/06/2026 - 18:00 GMT+2

A man holding hostages inside a building in California that houses a bank branch and a school district office has been shot and killed by the FBI, police said on Wednesday.

The suspect was killed in “an officer-involved shooting involving Federal Bureau of Investigation personnel,” the Bakersfield Police Department said in a statement.

The standoff ended about 12 hours after police were called to the building, police said.

All the hostages are free and none was harmed, police said.

The incident in downtown Bakersfield began on Tuesday afternoon when officers responded to a call of a bomb threat at the Chase Bank building.

Bakersfield Police said the man barricaded himself inside with several people. Two were released on Tuesday after negotiations with authorities.

Nearby buildings, including City Hall and the police headquarters, were evacuated and some roads were temporarily closed during the hostage situation.

Officers established a perimeter around the area and warned the public to stay away. The police department’s crisis negotiation team had been in contact with the suspect by telephone.

“We have every single resource at our disposal out here to bring this to the safest resolution possible,” Bakersfield police Sergeant Eric Celedon said Tuesday.

A spokesperson for JPMorgan Chase said the bank branch is on the ground floor of the building and is currently empty.

Jacob Davidson, a livestreamer known as Dad’s Gone Live, was a block from the bank at his family’s tattoo shop when he started getting calls about the bomb threat.

“I went into the bank’s parking garage and watched the cops enter the back of the bank. This is the biggest police presence I’ve ever seen in this town,” Davidson said.

His livestream captured through a window in the building a woman rocking back and forth Tuesday night before crouching below the window. Later, two hands could be seen waving.