SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A San Diego-based Coast Guard ship fired at and disabled a boat suspected of carrying migrants during a high-speed chase in San Diego Bay Saturday evening.
At 5:50 p.m. Saturday, Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector San Diego’s Joint Harbor Operations Center observed an 18-foot cuddy cabin-style boat that was speeding north, about 2 miles south of Point Loma.
The Coast Guard watchstanders were able to maintain visual contact of the boat using surveillance cameras as it entered San Diego Bay.
According to the Coast Guard, a San Diego station crew that was already out on routine patrol was diverted to intercept the boat. However, when they tried to communicate with the operator they reportedly took off.
The Coast Guard crew gave multiple verbal commands and fired warning shots, but the boat did not stop. That’s when the Coast Guard ship fired four rounds into the boat’s engine, disabling it.
The Coast Guard crew boarded and took control of the boat, which had a total of eight migrants aboard — five adult men, one adult woman, and two boys, ages 16 and 17.
All 8 people and the boat were taken to Ballast Point and were transferred to awaiting Department of Homeland Security partners.
Read: Read More