Officers opened fire on a reversing vehicle that reportedly struck two bystanders in the Bay Area in California during protests against a proposed immigration crackdown.
The incident, which occurred around 10 p.m. on October 23 at a Coast Guard base in Alameda, California, was captured in dramatic footage.
Coast Guard Island, between Oakland and Alameda, was planned to serve as a staging post for Border Patrol agents during an immigration surge across the San Francisco Bay area.
Protesters had gathered to mount action against the crackdown, which President Donald Trump called off later that day. It had been planned for Saturday.
Shots were fired after the driver failed to comply with verbal commands issued by police officers, the Coast Guard said.
The driver, who has not been publicly identified, fled the scene in the vehicle when the gunfire started, an eyewitness said. However, they returned shortly afterwards and parked the truck.
“He just hit the gas and sped towards them,” Rick Villaroman, a photographer for CBS affiliate KPIX, said. “And that’s when they opened fire. About 20 to 30 rounds.”
He added, “The driver of the U-Haul came back, parked it down this street here, and walked out and left.”
The photographer reportedly went and inspected the vehicle after it returned, where he saw bullet holes but no traces of blood.
CBS reports witnesses saw two people be struck by the truck. It is unclear whether they or the driver were injured.
In a statement to the Daily Beast on Friday, the Coast Guard said, “At approximately 10:00 p.m. (PDT) on Thursday, Coast Guard security personnel standing watch on Coast Guard Island observed a vehicle driving erratically and attempting to back into Coast Guard Base Alameda.
“Coast Guard personnel issued multiple verbal commands to stop the vehicle, the driver failed to comply and proceeded to put the vehicle in reverse.”
“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,” it added.
“No Coast Guard personnel were injured during the incident.”
An investigation led by the FBI has been launched.
Officials had confirmed the planned crackdown to CBS on Oct. 22.
Protesters began gathering at the base the following morning. They attempted to stop vehicles from entering the perimeter, culminating in a standoff that lasted the entire day.
Trump called off the “surge” in a post on Truth Social in the evening. However, some protesters had remained at the scene. They moved on after the shots were fired.
Trump said he had reached the decision after conversations with the city’s Mayor Daniel Lurie and tech bosses.
“I spoke to Mayor Lurie last night and he asked, very nicely, that I give him a chance to see if he can turn it around,” he said.
“Great people like Jensen Huang, Marc Benioff, and others have called saying that the future of San Francisco is great. They want to give it a ‘shot.’ Therefore, we will not surge San Francisco on Saturday. Stay tuned!”
In a statement of his own about his call with Trump, Mayor Lurie said, “I told him the same thing I told our residents: San Francisco is on the rise. Visitors are coming back, buildings are getting leased and purchased, and workers are coming back to the office.
“In that conversation, the president told me clearly that he was calling off any plans for a federal deployment in San Francisco. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem reaffirmed that direction in our conversation this morning.”
Further protests took place in San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose. It is unclear whether Trump’s cancellation also applied to other cities in the Bay Area.
The Daily Beast has contacted the Oakland Police and legal representatives for the city for comment.
