On Tuesday, a terrifying hostage situation unfolded in Bakersfield, California. A man who reportedly had a bomb strapped to his chest took ten hostages at a Chase Bank in downtown Bakersfield.

Law enforcement quickly responded to the scene and began negotiating with the suspect. After a 15-hour standoff, FBI agents shot and killed the suspect early this morning. All ten hostages remain safe.

The suspect, identified as Anthony Scott Searles-Harris, 41, had a history of criminal activity including being a registered sex offender. Court records show he was convicted in 2014 for sexual crimes involving a child under the age of 14 and released from prison in 2018.

Searles-Harris had also been dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Army in 2007 for going AWOL (missing without leave). The hostages were employees of the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, taken when Searles-Harris barricaded himself on the second floor of the bank building that also houses a school office.

During the standoff, Searles-Harris tied up half of the hostages and claimed to have explosives attached to his chest as well as five other devices. FBI officials stated they tested the devices but found them non-threatening. One hostage was able to communicate with law enforcement until her phone battery died; she was diabetic and without her medication.

Bakersfield Assistant Police Chief Jeremy Blakemore noted that the hostages’ families were anxious throughout the night: “Throughout the night, their families questioned whether or not they would be seen again but we are very grateful for the outcome.” Searles-Harris was killed around 4:20 a.m. local time.