U.S. Coast Guard personnel opened fire on a U-Haul truck late Thursday after the driver reportedly ignored commands to stop at the entrance of a base in Nothern California.
At around 10 p.m. local time, Coast Guard security personnel standing watch on Coast Guard Island observed a vehicle driving erratically and trying to back into Coast Guard Base Alameda. According to a spokesperson from the Coast Guard, this posed a direct safety threat to personnel, per ABC News.
“Coast Guard personnel issued multiple verbal commands to stop the vehicle, the driver failed to comply and proceeded to put the vehicle in reverse,” officials said, per ABC News.
“When the vehicle’s actions posed a direct threat to the safety of Coast Guard and security personnel, law enforcement officers discharged several rounds of live fire.”
Per The Associated Press, the driver was wounded after initially running from the scene.
The driver was being held for a mental health evaluation after “attempting to weaponize the vehicle to ram into Coast Guard Base Alameda" on Thursday night, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security posted on X. A bystander was struck by a fragment, treated at a hospital and released, the statement added, according to AP.
There were no Coast Guard personnel injured in the incident and additional information on the driver was not immediately available.
According to Fox News, the U-Haul truck had been parked outside the base for most of the day.
The incident occurred after a protest outside the base on Thursday, during which demonstrators were trying to stop U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents from entering the base.
About Coast Guard Island
Coast Guard Island is a 67-acre human-made island in the Oakland Estuary between Oakland and Alameda. It was created in 1913 and does not allow visits from the general public without an escort or specific government identification.
The island has been home to the current base, Base Alameda, since 2012, according to a Coast Guard document.