Shots fired, driver hurt and held after truck rams into Coast Guard base in California

A truck driver who backed into a U.S. Coast Guard base in the San Francisco Bay Area — the site of earlier protests against federal immigration agents — was shot by law enforcement officers and wounded, authorities said Friday.

The driver was held for a mental health evaluation after “attempting to weaponize the vehicle to ram into Coast Guard Base Alameda ” on Thursday night, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security posted on X. The FBI later said the driver was in custody.

A bystander was struck by a “fragment,” treated at a hospital and released, the Department of Homeland Security statement said. It did not elaborate.

No Coast Guard personnel were hurt, it said. Officers issued “multiple verbal commands” to stop, but the driver failed to comply, “suddenly accelerating backwards at a high rate of speed directly toward them,” the statement said.

“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 defensive live fire," it said.

The driver was wounded in the stomach and was expected to survive, the statement said.

The FBI was investigating. It sent evidence, crisis management and bomb technician teams to the scene.

“At this time, the incident appears to be isolated, and there is no known current threat to the public,” FBI spokesperson Cameron Polan in San Francisco said in a statement.

No other details were immediately released.

Video from the scene showed what appeared to be a U-Haul truck trying to back into the base.

“U-Haul is assisting law enforcement to meet any investigative needs they have,” company spokesperson Jeff Lockridge said in a statement.

Coast Guard Island is a 67-acre (27-hectare) human-made island formed in 1913 in the Oakland Estuary between Oakland and Alameda. It is federally owned, does not allow visits from the general public without an escort or specific government identification, and it has been home to the current base, Base Alameda, since 2012, according to a Coast Guard document from 2016.

Base Alameda provides a variety of services for Coast Guard activities throughout the West Coast.

Earlier Thursday, protesters had assembled at the island, with many singing hymns and carrying signs saying, “Protect our neighbors” and “No ICE or troops in the Bay,” a reference to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the National Guard.

Hours earlier, President Donald Trump had called off a planned surge of federal agents into San Francisco to quell crime. Mayor Daniel Lurie and Gov. Gavin Newsom said it was unnecessary because crime is on the decline.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents began arriving at the Coast Guard base in the region earlier Thursday for a possible ramp up of immigration enforcement, a move that drew several hundred protesters.

Trump said he backed off after speaking to the mayor and several prominent business leaders who said they’re working hard to clean up the city.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said Friday during a news conference in Minneapolis that she had discussed the incident with Trump and suggested the president could change his mind about holding off a federal enforcement surge in the Bay Area if more violence occurs.

If they “don’t figure out how to protect our law enforcement officers and protect our Coast Guard members, that we would be forced to come in and protect those individuals,” she said.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement informed Alameda County Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez that the operation had been called off for the entire Bay Area, a nine-county region of about 8 million people, Sgt. Roberto Morales, a spokesman for the sheriff, said Friday.

That decision was in contrast to others made by Trump to send the military into Democratic-run cities over fierce resistance from mayors and governors.

The deployment of National Guard troops on the streets of Washington faced challenges in two courts on Friday — one in the nation’s capital and another in West Virginia — while across the country a judge in Portland, Oregon, was considering whether to let Trump deploy troops there. Deployment remains blocked in the Chicago area.

Associated Press writers Olga R. Rodriguez in San Francisco and Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu contributed.

Coast Guardsmen stand watch behind a barrier at Coast Guard Base Alameda as an anti-ICE protester approaches on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. The barrier was erected earlier in the day after law enforcement officers fired on a vehicle as it backed towards them. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Coast Guardsmen stand watch behind a barrier at Coast Guard Base Alameda on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. The barrier was erected earlier in the day after law enforcement officers fired on a vehicle as it backed towards them. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Coast Guardsmen stand watch behind a barrier at Coast Guard Base Alameda as an anti-ICE protester approaches on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. The barrier was erected earlier in the day after law enforcement officers fired on a vehicle as it backed towards them. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Coast Guardsmen stand watch behind a barrier at Coast Guard Base Alameda on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. The barrier was erected earlier in the day after law enforcement officers fired on a vehicle as it backed towards them. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Coast Guardsmen stand watch behind a barrier at Coast Guard Base Alameda on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. The barrier was erected earlier in the day after law enforcement officers fired on a vehicle as it backed towards them. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Police officers examine a U-Haul truck involved in a shooting at the entrance to Coast Guard Base Alameda, according to an officer at the scene, on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. . (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Law enforcement officers investigate the entrance to Coast Guard Base Alameda after shots were fired at a U-Haul truck, according to an officer at the scene, on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Police officers examine a U-Haul truck involved in a shooting at the entrance to Coast Guard Base Alameda, according to an officer at the scene, on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong officials on Wednesday proposed expanding oversight of building maintenance projects and stronger fire safety steps after a blaze in November killed at least 161 people and displaced thousands.

The blaze that spread across seven towers in an apartment complex raised questions about corruption, negligence and government oversight in the city's building maintenance projects, piling pressure on Hong Kong leader John Lee’s administration and Beijing’s “patriots-only” governance system for the city.

In the newly elected legislature's first meeting, Lee said the fire exposed the need for reform and pledged that the investigation by law enforcement agencies and a judge-led independent committee would be thorough.

“We will fairly pursue accountability and take disciplinary action based on facts against anyone who should bear responsibility, regardless of whether they are from within or outside the government, or whether they are junior or senior staff,” Lee said.

To combat bid-rigging, Lee's administration proposed that the Urban Renewal Authority play a greater role in helping homeowners choose contractors for building maintenance projects.

Officials planned to set up a preselected list of consultants and contractors based on official background checks and past reviews from homeowners. The authority would facilitate homeowners in tendering and bid evaluation more.

The government also suggested requiring big renovation projects to hire a third-party professional to supervise the work, necessitating fire department's approval before shutting down major fire safety installations, and banning smoking on any construction site.

Proposals for law changes linked to the smoking ban were expected to be submitted for the legislature's review within the next few weeks, while officials were still discussing some of the other suggestions with the Urban Renewal Authority.

Authorities have pointed to substandard netting and foam boards installed during renovations at the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex as factors that contributed to the fire in November. They also said some fire alarms did not work in tests.

Political analysts and observers worried the tragedy could be the “tip of an iceberg" in Hong Kong, a city whose skyline is built on high-rise buildings. Suspicions of bid-rigging and use of hazardous construction materials in renovation projects across other housing estates have left many fearing the disaster could be repeated.

A man walks past the burnt buildings after a deadly fire that started Wednesday at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong's New Territories, Friday, Nov. 28 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

FILE - Smoke rises after a fire broke out at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong's New Territories, Nov. 26 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei, File)