Coast Guard opens fire on vehicle that tried to ram base in Alameda, California

Coast Guard officers opened fire on a vehicle that tried to ram the entrance of Coast Guard Base Alameda in California, wounding the suspect and a bystander, according to federal officials.

The incident occurred at around 10 p.m. on Thursday when Coast Guard security personnel observed a vehicle driving erratically near the entrance to the base on Coast Guard Island in Alameda, a city across the bay from San Francisco, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.

Officers said the driver ignored verbal commands and suddenly reversed at high speed toward security personnel, leading them to open fire.

No Coast Guard personnel were injured. The driver, who was hit in the stomach, was taken into custody and is undergoing a mental health evaluation, according to the agency.

A bystander was struck by a fragment, treated at a hospital, and later released. Both are expected to survive.

According to KTVU, the shooting happened on the bridge leading to Coast Guard Island near Oakland’s Embarcadero and Livingston Street. A KTVU news crew recorded about 10 seconds of gunfire and shouting as the incident unfolded.

The FBI is leading the investigation with assistance from the Coast Guard and other law enforcement agencies.

Authorities have not identified the driver or said whether the incident was connected to a demonstration held earlier in the day near the base’s entrance to protest immigration enforcement policies.