Coast Guard shoots driver trying to ram Alameda base gate

OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) — U.S. Coast Guard security guards posted at Coast Guard Island in Alameda opened fire Thursday night on a driver in a U-Haul truck who officials said was trying to ram through a gate. Two people were injured in the incident.

The shooting occurred around 10 p.m. at the site where hundreds of protesters gathered earlier in the day, near Embarcadero and Dennison Street in Oakland. The driver was shot in the stomach and is expected to survive, the Coast Guard said.

A bystander was also hospitalized after being struck by a fragment as shots rang out. The bystander has since been released from the hospital.

According to Coast Guard officials, security watched a vehicle driving erratically toward the base and gave multiple verbal commands to stop. The driver failed to yield, USCG said, and instead put the vehicle in reverse and attempted to back into Coast Guard Island and ram a gate.

“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,” USCG said.

No Coast Guard members were injured in the incident.

The driver is being held for a mental health evaluation, officials said Friday.

The FBI is leading the investigation.

The shooting comes after two protesters were injured Thursday morning as more than 100 federal agents were due to arrive at Coast Guard Island. Agents shouted at the group of protesters blocking a bridge that serves as the sole entryway and deployed pepper spray and flash bang granades to remove them.

Dozens of California Highway Patrol officers dressed in riot gear arrived Thursday afternoon and pushed protesters back to clear the intersection at the bridge. One protester was tackled to the ground and arrested.