Police locked in negotiations with man in Bakersfield holding hostages
[June 03, 2026]
By HALLIE GOLDEN and JULIE WATSON
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.
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 “with several community
members,” the Bakersfield Police Department said in a statement.
Through negotiations, two of the hostages were released and the rest are
in “good health,” city police Sgt. Eric Celedon said.
“We have every single resource at our disposal out here to bring this to
the safest resolution possible,” he said.
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.
Celedon warned the public to stay out of the area, explaining that this
is still a very active situation.
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.
The department's crisis negotiation team was in contact with the suspect
by telephone.
About a dozen police cars were on scene along with one tactical vehicle
and multiple emergency responders, and FBI agents were on the scene.
Jacob Davidson, a livestreamer known as Dad’s Gone Live, was a block
from the bank at his family’s tattoo shop when he started getting calls
from his subscribers alerting him to the bomb threat.
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An overhead view shows the scene of a standoff after a man
barricaded himself inside a bank on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in
Bakersfield, Calif. (Jacob, Dad’s Gone Live via AP)
“I went into the bank’s parking garage and watched the cops enter
the back of the bank. This is the biggest police presence I’ve ever
seen in this town,” Davidson said. “Now I’m 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.”
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.
Law enforcement agencies often protectively set up trauma tents —
which are color-coded to help sort people based on the severity of
injuries — just in case they become needed during an emergency
situation.
Bakersfield Mayor Karen Goh said she is closely monitoring the
situation.
“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,” she said in a statement.
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Associated Press reporter Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho,
contributed.
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