Hostages released, suspect dead after hours-long standoff at bank: Police
Yellow police tape says “police line do not cross” is set against blurry background. (Sheila Paras/Getty Images)
(BAKERSFIELD, Calif) — All hostages have been released, and a suspect is confirmed dead on Wednesday after an hours-long standoff at a bank in California, sources told ABC News.
The standoff began after a reported bomb threat at a bank in California. Two hostages were first released after hours of ongoing negotiations with a suspect, according to authorities.
The bomb threat was reported at a Chase Bank building in downtown Bakersfield around 1 p.m. local time Tuesday, police said.
An unidentified man entered the bank and was “barricaded” with an unknown number of people inside, Bakersfield Police Department Sgt. Eric Celedon told reporters earlier.
“We remain on scene at the Chase Bank building and have negotiated the release of a second hostage,” Bakersfield police said in an update on social media, shortly after 9 p.m. local time. “There are currently no injuries reported.”
Crisis negotiators were in contact with the individual over the phone, according to police. Celedon said authorities have not confirmed if there is a bomb.
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security are assisting, and other resources are coming in from throughout the state, police said.
Several buildings in the surrounding area were evacuated, police said. The Chase Bank is located at Chester Avenue and 17th Street.
“This is a very active scene,” Celedon said Tuesday while urging people to avoid the area.
“Every single resource is at this site’s disposal — SWAT team, bomb squad, K9 team, gang unit, negotiators, drone team — every single asset we have to bring this to the safest conclusion is out here right now.”
Toledo police chief, Michael Trinley speaks at a press conference about the festival shooting, on June 9, 2026, in Toledo, Ohio. (Toledo Police Department)
(TOLEDO, Ohio) — Investigators are searching for two individuals believed to have opened fire at an Ohio festival last weekend, leaving 12 people shot.
The suspects are believed to be two males between the ages of 18 and 24, Toledo Police Chief Michael Trinley said at a press conference Tuesday.
Several people of interest have been brought in for interviews and investigators have executed several search warrants, but no arrests have been made at this point, Trinley said.
Investigators believe they have “significant leads on who’s involved” and are hoping to make arrests “shortly,” Trinley said.
The 12 people who were shot are expected to survive, according to Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz. Some of the victims were intentionally targeted, but the majority were innocent bystanders, Kapszukiewicz said.
Investigators believe only three of those shot were part of the activity that happened, Trinley said.
Investigators believe the shooting stemmed from a dispute involving two rival groups, Trinley said.
Two groups were “disrespecting each other and it led into a little bit of a foot chase” before one individual assaulted another person. At that point, one person pulled out a firearm and started shooting. Someone from the rival group then pulled out his firearm and started returning fire,” Trinley said.
Investigators determined what happened based on reviewing video evidence and conducting interviews, Trinley said.
Investigators are currently processing two guns and comparing them to shell casings found at the scene, Trinley said.
Flash flood threat for Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. (ABC News)
(NEW YORK) — Rescuers are bracing for more treacherous weather at the Grand Canyon Monday amid a search for 14 people who “may be missing or unaccounted” in a deadly flash flood that slammed the national park over the weekend.
One person, a 46-year-old man, died and others ran for their lives when a flood swept through the floor of the Grand Canyon on Saturday afternoon, wiping out campgrounds, structures, hiking trails and vital infrastructure, according to officials.
The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for the Grand Canyon through at least Monday evening, warning that “flash flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues to be possible” for all of northern and central Arizona.
Air evacuations continued on Sunday afternoon, a day after a “significant flash flood” swept through campgrounds and hiking trails at the bottom of the national park, authorities said.
The Grand Canyon National Park Service said in an update Sunday evening that one person was recovered from the Colorado River in the park. The identity of the deceased individual has not been released.
NPS said there are at least 14 other individuals “who may be missing or unaccounted” following the flash flood.
“The National Park Service is asking anyone who knows of hikers or backpackers who were in the inner canyon along the Bright Angel Creek corridor on August 29, as well as anyone who had a campground reservation in the affected corridor, to provide information to the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch (ISB),” the statement said.
Earlier Sunday, the National Park Service (NPS) officials said more than 20 were missing and 62 individuals were air evacuated from Grand Canyon’s Phantom Ranch and the lower North Kaibab Trail, “which was affected by a significant flash-flood event Saturday afternoon.”
Evacuees were being taken to the Maswik Lodge Cafeteria on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, where the American Red Cross is coordinating assistance.
No injuries were immediately reported.
The latest National Park Service said the flash flooding knocked out the park’s water pipeline, prompting “significant water conservation measures” to be implemented. Those measures include: no overnight hotel stays allowed starting Monday, and only campground bathroom faucets will still run.
“Multiple campgrounds and trails are closed until further notice, and there is no estimated reopening date for the affected areas,” the Grand Canyon NPS said.
Grand Canyon National Park staff, in coordination with the Arizona Department of Public Safety, were continuing air evacuations on Sunday afternoon, officials said.
“Grand Canyon will possibly face additional thunderstorms and heavy rainfall today and Monday, which could result in flash flooding, debris flow, and rockfall,” the Grand Canyon NPS statement said.
Flash flooding unfolded about 2:30 p.m. local time on Saturday in the Bright Angel Canyon and Phantom Ranch area, both popular destinations for hikers.
“The flash flood resulted in significant impacts to infrastructure throughout Bright Angel Canyon. Nearly all footbridges spanning Bright Angel Creek were destroyed, eliminating hiker access across the creek,” the Grand Canyon NPS said.
Videos of the flooding obtained by ABC News show a roaring Colorado River as mudflows and debris from metal structures are seen floating down the river.
Erica Viola, who recorded the videos, told ABC News she was camping at Bright Angel Campground when she and her husband, Scott Svedin, had to evacuate. Viola said that she lost most of her belongings in the flooding.
Viola said that she and other campers were told by park rangers to run as fast as they could to the nearest bridge for evacuation.
Svedin said that as they were headed for the bridge, people were scrambling to beat the rising water.
“We just heard people yell, ‘Run, run, run!’ And there’s 40 of us running through this deep, muddy water, trying to make it to the bridge,” Viola said. “Once we got to the bridge, that’s when this 15-foot wall of water came through the campground in Phantom Ranch and just wiped out all the bridges in the creek.”
Viola and Svedin said they witnessed bunkhouses, barbecue grills, ice chests, and even an excavator floating down the Colorado River.
ABC News’ Jennifer Watts and Lissette Rodriguez contributed to this report.
U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Roger Fortson was shot in his home by a Florida sheriff’s deputy. Body camera footage appears to show Fortson had a gun in his hand at the time of the shooting. (Air Force)
(WASHINGTON) — Eddie Duran, a former Florida county sheriff’s deputy, was found not guilty by a jury on Thursday after facing one count of manslaughter with a firearm in the 2024 shooting death of a U.S. Air Force airman Roger Fortson.
The jury acquitted Duran after more than two hours of deliberations on Thursday afternoon. Duran, 38, was facing a maximum sentence of 30 years.
Fortson, 23, was in his home in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, on May 3, 2024, when Duran, who was an Okaloosa County sheriff’s deputy, responded to the apartment for a call reporting a domestic disturbance, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. Fortson was alone in the apartment at the time, police said, and he was on the phone with his girlfriend.
Fortson was shot and killed by Duran after answering the door of his apartment while holding a legally owned handgun. The shooting sparked national attention, and the deputy was later fired and charged with manslaughter.
Duran, who pleaded not guilty, testified during his trial on Wednesday, arguing that he fatally shot Fortson in self-defense.
“Looking at his eyes, it was clear to me that I wasn’t welcomed. I wasn’t a welcome presence. He seemed aggressive, frustrated, and again, just I’m not welcome,” Duran said.
“I thought I was dead. As soon as the door opened and I saw it, I immediately thought, ‘I’m dead,'” he added.
Mark Alderman, the assistant state attorney who prosecuted the case, argued during closing arguments on Thursday that Fortson posed “no threat” to Duran and said that he held his handgun because he was “not sure who’s at his door.”
Alderman pointed to the body camera video shown to jurors during the trial, showing that Fortson’s gun was “pointed at the ground” when he was shot by Duran.
“There was no threat. The gun was pointed at the ground,” he said.
Alderman also said that upon opening his door, Fortson held his left arm up when he saw Duran and made “no aggressive move, no aggressive act” before he was shot.
“There’s a reason most of those gunshots enter his left arm, because he was holding it up in an effort to not be shot, and was shot repeatedly in that left arm as he holds it up in an effort to shield himself right before the shooting,” he said. “Roger’s last act was to, in essence, plead to not be shot. The defendant completely ignored it. I hope that you don’t ignore it.”
Meanwhile, Duran’s defense attorney Rod Smith argued on Thursday that Fortson posed an “imminent threat” to Duran and the former sheriff’s deputy’s actions were “a justifiable use of force by a law enforcement officer while he was performing the duties that he is obliged to perform.”
In closing arguments, Smith focused on the gun that Fortson was holding when he opened the door of his home for Duran, arguing that the former sheriff’s deputy was following his training on how to respond to a “close encounter” when he shot Fortson.
“Do you have to wait? Do we ever train people that they have to wait until the gun is pointed at them? No. No one is trained that you wait till the gun is pointed at you. No one would take the job if that was the training,” Smith said.
“The question here is about the reasonableness of his actual fear,” he said. “What is the officer to do at that point? Wait till it’s aimed at him? No, that’s not how you’re trained. It’s imminent threat, and you respond. And he did exactly that,” he added.
State Attorney Ginger Bowden Madden, whose office prosecuted the case against Duran, said in a statement after the verdict on Thursday that prosecutors “respect” the verdict and “thank the jurors for their service.”
“A not-guilty verdict means the State did not prove the criminal charge beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of every juror,” Madden’s office said in a statement. “It does not diminish the life, service, or humanity of Roger Fortson, and it does not lessen the devastating loss his family, friends, and fellow airmen endured.”
Attorney Ben Crump, who represents Fortson’s family, said in a statement on Friday that this is a “painful moment” for the family, who are “heartbroken” over the not guilty verdict.
“Roger’s life and his service will always matter. His family will keep fighting for him, and we will stand with them as they pursue their civil rights case in federal court and seek accountability for the tragic loss of his life,” Crump said.
Smith, Duran’s attorney, told ABC News in a phone interview on Friday that while he is “thrilled” with the not guilty verdict, he is “saddened for the event that occurred.”
“I just felt like [Duran] followed his training, and it’s a tragedy. This never should have happened. But I didn’t want to see a tragedy turn into an injustice,” Smith said.
Smith added that Duran “had a tough couple of years while this has been hanging over his head,” so he feels “great for him and his family” and is “thankful that it’s over with.”
ABC News’ Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.
