Law enforcement officers in California opened fire Thursday night at a vehicle that authorities say attempted to back into the entrance of the US Coast Guard base in Alameda, where protests had taken place earlier in the day over the arrival of federal immigration agents.
In a statement, the Coast Guard said that at around 10.00pm local time 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,” the news release states. “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, officials said.
The Coast Guard confirmed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is leading the investigation, and said that more information will be released as it becomes available.
According to The Mercury News, the vehicle involved was a U-Haul truck. The outlet also reported that two men, including one believed to be the driver, arrived at local hospitals for gunshot wound treatment after the shooting.
The incident came as the San Francisco Bay Area had been on edge this week following reports that the Trump administration planned to deploy more than 100 federal agents to the region, as part of the administration’s immigrant enforcement operations. The agents were set to be stationed at the Alameda Coast Guard base.
Early on Thursday, US Customs and Border Protection agents began arriving at the Alameda base, where they were met by hundreds of protesters outside, carrying signs that read “No ICE or Troops in the Bay!”.
On Thursday, tensions flared outside the base between the demonstrators protesting against the anticipated immigration enforcement operation and police. Officers deployed flash-bang grenades to disperse the crowd as Customs and Border Protection vehicles made their way through.
But then, just hours later, Donald Trump announced that he was calling off the planned “surge” of federal agents into San Francisco after speaking with the city’s mayor and Silicon Valley leaders.
Trump had previously argued in recent weeks that a federal operation in San Francisco was needed to combat crime.
Local leaders have said crime rates in the city are falling.
