Hostage Taker Killed in Standoff Amidst Questions of De-escalation and Media Coverage
The nearly 16-hour standoff in downtown Bakersfield concluded early Wednesday when the FBI shot and killed Anthony Scott Searles-Harris, who had taken 10 school employees hostage. Searles-Harris, an Army veteran with a history of law enforcement trouble and a registered sex offender, claimed to have explosives and barricaded himself on the second floor of the Kern County Superintendent of Schools office. Authorities stormed the building, and all hostages were found unharmed, though one was identified as being at particular risk due to a medical condition. While the motive remains under investigation, Searles-Harris reportedly made demands related to the handling of his previous sex crime convictions.
John Q. Hosedrinker