A man has barricaded himself inside a bank in Downtown Bakersfield, California, reportedly wearing a bomb device. Police have been deployed to the scene. The presence of hostages is yet to be confirmed.
Authorities have established an exclusion zone encompassing the area between 18th and Truxtun Avenue and Chester to H Streets due to a bomb threat, leading to street closures.
Negotiators are on-site addressing the situation where the man has taken at least one hostage. The incident is described as a bank robbery by the Bakersfield Police, prompting evacuations and street closures in the vicinity.
The Bakersfield Police Department has disclosed an ongoing hostage crisis at the Chase Bank on 17th Street and Chester. The suspect, identified as a male, has allegedly issued bomb threats and is believed to have a bomb strapped to his body.
