The FBI is investigating after law enforcement at a Coast Guard base in the East Bay opened fired on a U-Haul truck that “erratically” drove in reverse and defied commands to halt on Thursday night, the Coast Guard said.
The truck driver was shot and is in custody while a bystander was injured, according to officials.
The shooting happened around 10 p.m. at the causeway connecting Oakland to Coast Guard Island in Alameda. Earlier in the day, there had been hundreds of protesters at the site, opposing an expected surge of federal law enforcement who would use the base as their staging ground.
“Coast Guard security personnel standing watch on Coast Guard Island observed a vehicle driving erratically and attempting to back into Coast Guard Base Alameda,” officials said on X. (opens in new tab)
Footage from KPIX (opens in new tab) and KTVU (opens in new tab) recorded officers yelling at the truck driver before opening fire.
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“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,” the Coast Guard said.
After the shooting, the driver drove forward, paused at an intersection for more than 30 seconds, and then fled, according to the KPIX video. In that footage, law enforcement cannot be seen approaching the truck after shots were fired. The driver later returned, parked the truck, and walked away, according to a KPIX photographer (opens in new tab).
The truck driver was wounded in the stomach and being held for a mental health evaluation, according to the Department of Homeland Security. A bystander “was struck by a fragment” and has been released from a hospital, DHS said in a statement.
No Coast Guard personnel were injured.
“At this time, the incident appears to be isolated, and there is no known current threat to the public,” the FBI said Friday in a statement.
Earlier Thursday, protesters had at times blocked the road leading to the base as they denounced plans by the Trump administration to target San Francisco in their next big city crackdown. While President Donald Trump and Mayor Daniel Lurie announced that the federal forces weren’t coming to the city after all, protesters remained at the site.
A Standard reporter witnessed the U-Haul truck’s arrival at the scene shortly before 8:30 a.m. Thursday, where it spent several hours blocking lanes of Embarcadero East. One of two men seen near the truck was involved in a scuffle around 11:30 a.m. that knocked another man to the ground, bloodying his face.
Another Standard reporter who was at the site around 8 p.m. observed a small crowd that included drivers doing doughnuts in the nearby intersection.
The FBI, Oakland Police Department and Alameda Police Department have not responded to The Standard’s requests for comment.