(The Hill) — Law enforcement officers shot at a truck outside of a U.S. Coast Guard base in Alameda, California, late Thursday night as protests over the Trump administration’s immigration agenda rage on.
The incident followed a days-long demonstration near the base, which is expected to be used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The Coast Guard posted a statement to social platform X early Friday with details about the incident, which occurred around 10 p.m. on Thursday. The agency said security personnel “standing watch” in the area observed a vehicle behaving “erratically” before it attempted to “back into” the base.
Video of the incident, which aired on CBS News, shows a truck reversing toward a line of personnel stationed near the base. Once officers began firing shots toward the truck, it drove away.
“Coast Guard personnel issued multiple verbal commands to stop the vehicle, the driver failed to comply and proceeded to put the vehicle in reverse,” the Coast Guard statement reads. “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.”
No Coast Guard personnel were injured during the incident, according to the agency.
CBS also reported that people witnessed the truck strike two bystanders, but it is unclear whether that led to any injuries.
The statement also said the FBI would take the lead on investigating the incident and that the Coast Guard would coordinate with law enforcement agencies.
The Alameda base drew over 100 protesters earlier Thursday in anticipation of the site’s use by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents during a planned immigration enforcement crackdown in San Francisco. The base is roughly 15 miles away from the city.
CBP officers began arriving to the area early Thursday morning while some demonstrators attempted to block vehicles from entering the gates. Officials used smoke grenades and flash bang devices to disperse protesters.
Government officials have expressed fear in recent weeks for the safety of law enforcement officers in the current political climate — primarily amid the rise in tensions over President Trump’s robust deportation agenda.
In September, a man opened fire on an ICE facility in Texas, killing one person who was detained there.
“The obsessive attack on law enforcement, particularly ICE, must stop,” Vice President JD Vance wrote on X at the time. “I’m praying for everyone hurt in this attack and for their families.”
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