On Thursday night, U.S. Coast Guard personnel opened fire on a U-Haul truck outside Coast Guard Base Alameda in California after the driver ignored repeated commands to stop. Video footage shows the truck with its headlights on reversing toward officers stationed near the entrance of the base around 10 p.m.
According to the Coast Guard, the driver initially refused to comply with verbal instructions and then accelerated forward while the vehicle was in drive. Security officers reported that the truck was “driving erratically and attempting to back into the base.” In response, they discharged multiple rounds of live ammunition after the driver’s actions posed a direct threat to the safety of Coast Guard personnel.
Fortunately, no base personnel were injured during the incident. The U-Haul had been parked outside the facility for most of the day. After the shooting, the driver fled the scene. Local hospitals later received two men suffering from gunshot wounds, one of whom is believed to be the truck’s driver.
The shooting followed a protest earlier that day at the base entrance, during which demonstrators tried to block U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents from entering. California Highway Patrol officers in riot gear intervened to disperse the crowd so civilian employees could leave the area. Two individuals were detained during the protest.
Earlier on Thursday, President Donald Trump announced that a previously planned deployment of federal troops to San Francisco had been postponed. He stated that he spoke with friends in the area and the city’s mayor, Daniel Lurie, and both agreed that crime reduction efforts were progressing sufficiently to delay the deployment. The base had been designated as a staging area for the federal troops.
Coast Guard Base Alameda, located on Coast Guard Island, is a 67-acre man-made island developed in 1913. It is federally owned and does not allow public access without government identification or an escort. Since 2012, it has served as the home of Base Alameda.
Authorities have not released the motive behind the driver’s actions, but the incident remains under investigation. The Coast Guard confirmed that its personnel acted in accordance with standard safety protocols when responding to what they perceived as an immediate threat. Law enforcement agencies continue to monitor the situation, and updates regarding the driver’s status and any criminal charges are expected in the coming days.
The combination of the protest, the attempted breach, and the shooting has heightened security concerns around the base and drawn attention to ongoing tensions in the area.
