Police in Bakersfield say a man barricaded himself inside a Chase Bank building after a bomb threat call led officers to establish a perimeter, place nearby government buildings on lockdown, and close roads while a crisis negotiation team contacted the subject
For hours on June 2, the downtown block around a Chase Bank in Bakersfield turned into a controlled zone: police shut nearby roads, put nearby buildings on lockdown, and kept the public back while negotiators worked to keep the situation contained.
Officers received a call reporting a bomb threat at around 1 p.m. local time at the Chase Bank building in downtown Bakersfield, the Bakersfield Police Department said in a news release. After further investigation, police said a man had barricaded himself inside the building with “several community members.”.
No injuries were reported, and some community members were able to evacuate from the building, police said. Still, the response widened. City hall and the police headquarters were placed on lockdown, and roads in the area were closed until further notice.
By shortly before 6:30 p.m. local time, police said officers established a perimeter around the building and surrounding businesses to ensure public safety. At the time of that release. police said officers and members of their Crisis Negotiation Team remained in contact with the subject by telephone. No arrests had been made.
Earlier. police said officers were at the scene for a “confirmed bomb threat” and urged the public to stay out of the downtown area. The FBI Sacramento field office said in a statement on social media that it was “aware of the crisis in progress” at the Chase Bank building and was sending resources to assist local police.
Bakersfield, with a population of about 422,000, is roughly 112 miles north of Los Angeles in California’s Central Valley region. The city is described as a hub for both agriculture and energy production.
The situation was still unfolding at the time of reporting, with authorities continuing to maintain the area while negotiations played out.
Bakersfield California Chase Bank bomb threat police standoff crisis negotiation team FBI Sacramento lockdown
Why would he even do that at a Chase though… sounds like attention.
They locked down City Hall and police HQ for a bank phone call? That seems excessive to me, like they were just panicking. Also how does a bomb threat turn into hours of talking on the phone.
So it was a confirmed bomb threat but “no injuries” yet he had community members in there? That part doesn’t make sense. I keep seeing stuff like this and it’s always the same deal—someone says bomb, cops show up, then everyone acts surprised. Bet they’ll call it terrorism later or something.
This is crazy, I used to work downtown and if roads get shut like that it messes up everyone’s life. Also Chase banks always have cameras so how did he barricade himself for hours? Feels like someone inside the system knew something, because otherwise why lock down half the area. I’m just glad nobody got hurt, but the FBI being involved over a call is wild.