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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.<\/p>\n
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 \u201cwith several community members,\u201d the Bakersfield Police Department said in a statement. <\/p>\n
Through negotiations, two of the hostages were released and the rest are in \u201cgood health,\u201d city police Sgt. Eric Celedon said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have every single resource at our disposal out here to bring this to the safest resolution possible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Celedon warned the public to stay out of the area, explaining that this is still a very active situation.<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
The department’s crisis negotiation team was in contact with the suspect by telephone. <\/p>\n
About a dozen police cars were on scene along with one tactical vehicle and multiple emergency responders, and FBI agents were on the scene.<\/p>\n
Jacob Davidson, a livestreamer known as Dad\u2019s Gone Live, was a block from the bank at his family\u2019s tattoo shop when he started getting calls from his subscribers alerting him to the bomb threat.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went into the bank\u2019s parking garage and watched the cops enter the back of the bank. This is the biggest police presence I\u2019ve ever seen in this town,\u201d Davidson said. \u201cNow I\u2019m 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Law enforcement agencies often protectively set up trauma tents \u2014 which are color-coded to help sort people based on the severity of injuries \u2014 just in case they become needed during an emergency situation.<\/p>\n
Bakersfield Mayor Karen Goh said she is closely monitoring the situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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,\u201d she said in a statement.<\/p>\n
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Associated Press reporter Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, contributed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n