OAN Staff Blake Wolf and Brooke Mallory
4:28 PM – Friday, October 24, 2025
Now-viral video footage captured the moment that U.S. Coast Guard security officers opened fire on a U-Haul truck late on Thursday, after the vehicle’s driver abruptly reversed toward officials at a security checkpoint gate at Coast Guard Island in Alameda.
Coast Guard Island, located between Oakland and Alameda, serves as a regional command hub and is home to several operational units. The base was placed on temporary lockdown following the incident but reopened early Friday morning.
Footage of the incident shows a tense standoff at the bridge to Coast Guard Island, where officers had been guarding the entrance amid large protests against President Donald Trump and federal immigration officials.
The officials, deployed at the base to prepare for expanded immigration operations in the Bay Area, faced furious left-wing protesters blocking its access. Protestors had attempted to block the only bridge leading to the island in opposition to Trump’s crime crackdown in San Francisco.
According to a Coast Guard statement, base personnel issued verbal commands for the U-Haul driver to stop at around 10 p.m. when the truck entered a restricted approach lane. However, the driver ignored commands and accelerated in reverse toward them and the gate area, prompting security forces to fire their weapons.
The U.S. Coast Guard noted that the truck had already been driving erratically before suddenly reversing.
“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 stated.
The driver, who has not been publicly identified, was transported to a local hospital with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. A bystander suffered minor injuries as well, reportedly from debris or shrapnel, and was treated and released.
The Coast Guard also confirmed that no personnel were injured in the incident.
Local CBS affiliate KPIX photographer Rick Villaroman described the moment, explaining that the driver “just hit the gas and sped towards them.”
“And that’s when they opened fire. About 20 to 30 rounds,” he continued, adding that “the driver of the U-Haul came back, parked it down this street here, and walked out and left.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also issued a statement, announcing that: “Two civilians were injured and are expected to survive. The truck driver was wounded in the stomach and is being held for mental health evaluation. A bystander was struck by a fragment, treated at a local hospital, and released.”
DHS noted that the FBI is not leading an investigation into the incident.
Protesters had gathered in response to President Trump’s announcement of potential federal troop deployment to San Francisco, with Coast Guard Island designated as their staging area. However, Trump later postponed the decision after discussions with San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie.
“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. I told him I think he is making a mistake, because we can do it much faster, and remove the criminals that the Law does not permit him to remove. I told him, ‘It’s an easier process if we do it, faster, stronger, and safer but, let’s see how you do?’” Trump wrote in a Wednesday Truth Social post.
“The people of San Francisco have come together on fighting Crime, especially since we began to take charge of that very nasty subject. Great people like Jenson 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!”
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