Suspect killed after California bank hostage situation identified as convicted sex offender

A man who was fatally shot by the FBI after taking 10 people hostage at a downtown Bakersfield bank building as been identified as a convicted sex offender who had grudges against law enforcement and the media.

The FBI said the hostage rescue team “neutralized” the suspect around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday.

None of the hostages were harmed during the operation, and agents say bombs the suspect claimed to have were fake.

The suspect, identified as 41-year-old Anthony Scott Searles-Harris, was shot and killed following an hourslong standoff that started Tuesday afternoon at the Chase Bank building on Chester Avenue, according to the FBI.

Searles-Harris was previously sentenced to 12 years in prison for committing sex acts with minors.

Authorities said he was found guilty in 2014 of holding alcohol and drug-fueled parties where he engaged in sex acts with underage girls and forced a 13-year-old to perform a sex act with a 26-year-old man.

The charge alleging force was later reversed after an appeal.

Read more: KTLA