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Authorities were engaged in an hourslong hostage standoff Tuesday with a suspect who was barricaded inside a bank building in the Southern California city of Bakersfield. The suspect had agreed to release two of the hostages, authorities said.
Bakersfield police said the incident unfolded at about 1 p.m. local time when officers were dispatched to a report of a “bomb threat” at a Chase bank branch downtown. Police said that officers arrived to find a man who had barricaded himself in the building “with several community members.” Some people were able to escape, police said.
All the buildings in the surrounding area were evacuated. Police responded with SWAT teams, hostage negotiators and a bomb squad.
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Early Tuesday evening, Bakersfield police Sgt. Eric Celedon said in a social media video that the suspect had agreed to release one of the hostages.
“Through our negotiations with the individual inside, we were able to negotiate the safe surrender of one of the hostages inside the building,” Celedon said.
A little after 9 p.m. local time, police announced in an update that the suspect had agreed to the release of a second hostage.
There had been no injuries reported so far, police said. The approximate number of people still in the building was unclear.
“We are aware of the ongoing situation occurring at the building where our branch is located on the ground floor,” a Chase Bank spokesperson told CBS News in a statement. “The branch is currently empty, and we are working with authorities.”
The identity of the suspect and the exact circumstances that led up to the standoff were not provided.
Police emphasized that the public should stay away from the downtown area.
“The 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,” Bakersfield Mayor Karen Goh said in a statement.
The FBI’s Sacramento office said in a social media post that it was “aware of the crisis in progress” and was sending assistance.
An official with the Kern County Sheriff’s Office earlier told CBS News that Bakersfield police had alerted the sheriff’s office about the incident, but had not asked for assistance.
Bakersfield is located about 110 miles north of Los Angeles.
