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The man who held 10 hostages for 15 hours inside a California bank building before FBI agents shot him dead has been identified as a registered sex offender with a violent past.
Authorities said 41-year-old Anthony Scott Searles-Harris took 10 people hostage on the second floor of a Chase Bank building in Bakersfield, about 110 miles north of Los Angeles, around 1 p.m. Tuesday.
Searles-Harris served in the U.S. Army from 2006 to 2007 but was dishonorably discharged after going AWOL. He was also a registered sex offender, and had been charged with sex acts with a child under 14 in 2014, according to Sid Patel of the FBI’s Sacramento field office.
He had explosives strapped to his body as he entered the building and took the hostages to the second floor, which contains the offices of the Kern County school superintendent’s administration.
Half of the hostages were tied up — and some had explosive devices attached to them. Searles-Harris was shot dead by FBI agents early Wednesday morning following a 15-hour standoff.
Here is everything we know about the suspect.
Searles-Harris takes 10 people hostage inside Chase Bank building
Searles-Harris took 10 people hostage inside the Bakersfield Chase Bank building around 1 p.m. Tuesday, prompting a large-scale police response that included over 150 FBI agents, authorities said during a press conference Wednesday.
Police were initially called to the building on reports of a bomb threat. Authorities confirmed during the press conference that Searles-Harris had explosive devices strapped to his body. He would later attach devices to an unknown number of his hostages, police said.
“The suspect advised he had explosives attached to his person, which our personnel could see as well,” Jeremy Blakemore, Bakersfield assistant police chief, said during the press conference. “He also told law enforcement that additional explosives had been attached to some of the hostages, which we confirmed based on our observations.”
A witness to the horrifying hostage situation said the suspect entered the bank and said: “It’s a bad day to be at the bank.”
Freddy Arrendondo began to fear for his life after witnessing Searles-Harris enter the bank, he told KGET.
“I was just fearing for my wife, she was outside, my kids, not being able to ever see them again. It was a lot right there. You sort of feel everything flash before you,” he said.
Crisis negotiation teams spoke with the suspect via telephone and were able to secure the safe release of two hostages on Tuesday night.
Nearby buildings, including City Hall and the police headquarters, were evacuated. Several nearby roads were also closed from Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday, as authorities worked on negotiations.
Searles-Harris’ motive in the hostage situation remains unclear. However, during hostage negotiations, he spoke with police about materials he wanted to see relating to his court case, as well as about food and water, The New York Post reported.
The suspect reportedly told police that he was frustrated with “certain elements” of his case, according to the report.
The lengthy standoff came to a close around 4:20 a.m. Wednesday, when FBI personnel fatally shot the suspect. Bakersfield police were not involved in the shooting, officials said.
All 10 of the hostages were released and reunited with their families on Wednesday. None were injured, authorities said.
Authorities have not said whether the explosive devices would have worked, nor have they shared any other information about the hostages.
Suspect’s lengthy violent history and designation as a registered sex offender
Searles-Harris was no stranger to law enforcement, Patel, the FBI official, said during the press conference.
The 41-year-old had a history of violence and was a registered sex offender, Patel said.
The designation came after he was charged with sex acts with a child under 14 in 2014.
He was convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 and oral copulation with a minor under 14 and more than a 10–year age difference between the offender and the victim, per the Post.
Another man allegedly paid Searles-Harris $200 to have two girls, ages 13 and 17, perform oral sex on him, Bakersfield Now reported in 2014.
Searles-Harris allegedly hosted underage girls at parties at his Oildale home — providing them with alcohol and drugs and coercing them into sex acts, according to the report.
Suspect dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Army
Searles-Harris also served in the U.S. Army from 2006 to 2007, Patel said.
He was dishonorably discharged after going AWOL, or absent without leave.
Arredondo, who witnessed the suspect enter the bank, said he went on a speech about his time in the service before taking hostages.
“He started just bringing up his marine career and he was just rambling on that,” Arredondo said, adding that he then ran out of the bank.
Authorities say their investigation into the hostage situation remains ongoing.
