Late one evening, security personnel from the United States Coast Guard (USCG) opened fire on a U-Haul truck at the entrance of Coast Guard Base Alameda in California after the vehicle’s driver refused repeated orders to stop. The incident took place at around 10:00 p.m. local time and was triggered when the driver — despite verbal commands from officers at a checkpoint — failed to halt and instead began reversing the large rental truck toward the security line. Video footage circulating online captured the U-Haul’s headlights illuminating Coast Guard personnel, followed by several shots being fired as the truck continued moving aggressively.
According to official statements, Coast Guard officers considered the truck a “direct threat” to the safety of base personnel once it reversed toward them at speed. The USCG said that after “multiple verbal commands” were ignored and the vehicle accelerated backward toward the checkpoint, security officers discharged live rounds in self-defense. No Coast Guard members were harmed in the exchange. The driver was shot in the stomach and — alongside a bystander who suffered a fragments-wound — was hospitalized. Both are expected to survive.
Authorities quickly identified the driver as a 26-year-old individual from Oakland (known variously as Brendan Munro Thompson, also using other names) and charged them with assault on federal officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon. Officials allege the driver intentionally accelerated the U-Haul in reverse toward the line of Coast Guard and other law-enforcement personnel on the small bridge leading to Coast Guard Island — effectively attempting to “weaponize” the vehicle.
The broader context behind this dramatic confrontation is a wave of unrest earlier in the day: the base had been the site of large-scale protests against a planned federal immigration-enforcement operation in the San Francisco Bay Area. The demonstration had drawn hundreds of protestors to the entrance bridge to the island base, which had been designated for potential immigration-detention staging. According to reports, the U-Haul had been parked near the base for much of the day before the shooting — fueling speculation about whether the driver’s actions were connected to the protests or a separate act entirely.
In response to the incident, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opened an investigation. The FBI dispatched bomb-technician and crisis-management teams to the scene, reflecting serious concern about the possibility that the truck may have contained explosives or other dangerous cargo. Meanwhile, the company that rents the truck — U-Haul — indicated its willingness to cooperate with authorities’ investigative needs.
The aftermath has triggered deeper discussion nationwide about security protocols at military installations and how they should manage vehicle-based threats. Observers note that large rental trucks — because of their size, capacity, and maneuverability — pose a unique danger in potential attack or breach scenarios, especially at sensitive sites like military bases. Use of lethal force, though rare, is sometimes viewed as a last-resort response when non-lethal means (verbal commands, barriers, etc.) fail and immediate danger is assessed. In this case, the Coast Guard framed its actions as defensive and necessary.
Other critics and civil-rights advocates argue that the incident raises serious questions: about whether there were alternative, non-lethal ways to stop the vehicle; about readiness and training for such checkpoint situations; and – in broader context – about how law enforcement and security forces respond during periods of heightened protest or civil unrest. Some call for transparency and independent review of the footage, forensic evidence, and chain of command decisions to ensure accountability. Meanwhile, the FBI-led investigation continues, and the driver remains in custody. The event is likely to influence future policy and assessments of base security protocols in the face of evolving threats.
