❓WHAT HAPPENED: Security officers opened fire at a U-Haul truck that accelerated toward them outside a U.S. Coast Guard base in Alameda, California, during an anti-ICE protest.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Coast Guard security officers, a U-Haul driver, and protesters near the base.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Thursday night at the entrance to Coast Guard Island in Alameda, California.
💬KEY QUOTE: “He just hit the gas and sped towards them. And that’s when they opened fire. About 20 to 30 rounds.” – Eyewitness Rick Villaroman
🎯IMPACT: No injuries to Coast Guard personnel were reported; the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is leading an investigation into the incident.
Security officers opened fire on a U-Haul truck that accelerated toward them outside the U.S. Coast Guard base in Alameda, California, during an anti-ICE protest, in a dramatic incident caught on video. The events unfolded near the end of a day-long demonstration against federal immigration enforcement operations staged at the base.
The truck reversed quickly toward officers guarding the bridge to Coast Guard Island, despite instructions to stop, resulting in a volley of gunfire. The truck then began accelerating forward. Photographer Rick Villaroman, who was at the scene, said, “He just hit the gas and sped towards them. And that’s when they opened fire. About 20 to 30 rounds.”
Witnesses said the vehicle struck two bystanders before the masked driver stopped briefly, appeared to check his phone, and then drove off. According to Villaroman, the driver abandoned the truck nearby after it had been parked outside the base for most of the day. The Coast Guard said the vehicle’s actions posed a direct threat to security personnel. Notably, U-Haul trucks have been used in multiple terror attacks and attempted terror attacks in the U.S. and Canada in recent years. Most notably, an Islamic State jihadist admitted to the U.S. from Uzbekistan on a Diversity Immigrant Visa, used a U-Haul to murder eight people on a crowded bike path in Lower Manhattan in 2017.
The confrontation in Alameda follows a series of violent incidents targeting immigration enforcement personnel across the country. Federal officials have warned of a sharp rise in attacks against Immigration and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and facilities. In one of the most serious recent cases, federal prosecutors charged a group of self-described Antifa members with terrorism after a sniper attack on an ICE facility in Alvarado, Texas. Investigators allege the suspects coordinated the ambush using encrypted apps and targeted agents with gunfire and explosives.
In Chicago, local police have faced criticism for reportedly ordering officers to “stand down” rather than assist ICE agents surrounded by protesters, prompting outrage from the city’s police union. Meanwhile, federal data show a massive increase in assaults on ICE officers compared with last year, according to a July statement from DHS.
#BREAKING: Video from KPIX photojournalist Rick Villaroman shows a U-Haul driver backing up toward a line of officers outside US Coast Guard base Alameda before officers opened fire. This was hours after almost all protesters dispersed. Awaiting an update from police @KPIXtv pic.twitter.com/UPrc3CDT3l
— Sara Donchey (@SaraDonchey) October 24, 2025
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