ALAMEDA, Calif. – The FBI is investigating a shooting that occurred late Thursday night near the entrance to Coast Guard Island between Oakland and Alameda — the same location where a day-long protest against a called-off federal immigration operation had taken place hours earlier.
Shooting at U-Haul driver
The shooting happened just after 10 p.m. on the bridge leading to the island, near Oakland’s Embarcadero and Livingston Street. Authorities say Coast Guard police officers opened fire on a U-Haul truck that had been backing up toward the island’s entrance.
A KTVU news crew captured the incident as it unfolded, recording about 10 seconds of gunfire followed by shouting.
A law enforcement source told the station that two people were struck — the driver of the U-Haul and another person who was not inside the vehicle.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that the truck driver was struck by shrapnel and was released medically before being evaluated for mental health.
Driver in FBI custody
The driver is now in custody of the FBI, the agency said Friday night.
The CHP said they found the suspect’s vehicle abandoned on Dennison Street, north of Embarcadero.
The FBI is the lead investigating agency in Thursday’s shooting.
A bystander was struck by a bullet in the stomach, and is still being treated at a local hospital as of Friday. They are expected to survive.
Kalani Cecaci started a GoFundMe, writing that her brother, Jared, was shot in the stomach and was still in the hospital.
The DHS also said that the Coast Guard “security personnel” shot at the U-Haul driver because the truck was “driving erratically and attempting to weaponize the vehicle to ram” into the Alameda base. Coast Guard officials “issued multiple verbal commands” to stop the truck, the DHS said, and the driver failed to comply and instead, started to reverse, accelerating backwards at a high rate of speed directly toward them.
“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,” the DHS said.
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee said she is working to gather more information on the incident.
“I am aware of last night’s shooting near the entrance of Coast Guard Island in Alameda. The Oakland Police Department is assisting the Alameda Police Department in securing the perimeter of the scene. The FBI is the lead agency investigating the incident, and I will continue to gather available information as it becomes accessible.”
‘Independent actor,’ 2 injured
Kris Ness, who had been at the immigration protest throughout the day, said an “independent actor,” who showed up around 9:30 p.m., and who wasn’t involved in the protest, broke through the barrier, and “reversed toward the Coast Guard.”
He said he saw the Coast Guard fire up to 50 rounds, and an “innocent bystander was struck.” Ness said he ran over to help him before he was ultimately taken to the hospital.
“He was definitely bleeding though,” Ness said.
Ness said he also saw the driver of the U-Haul, who looked “pretty messed up” after he also got shot. But Ness said he saw him “hop on his phone” before he drove away, and then seemed to run away on foot.
Ness said that the group of protesters he was with told the Coast Guard that they were peaceful, which is when Oakland police and the Alameda County sheriff’s deputies arrived to secure the scene.
At that point, Ness said, most of the protesters went home.
The FBI has taken the lead in the investigation to determine what led up to the shooting.
Ness stressed that for the most part, the immigration protest had been peaceful, and he wasn’t at all affiliated with the U-Haul driver.
“In fact, we tried to stop them,” he said. “It’s a really terrible picture for the rest of us, especially. You know, aside from the fact that he was a completely independent actor, he refused to talk to us as well. It was all around just a really weird and dangerous and unfortunate.”
Coast Guard police fire gunfire at a U-Haul truck. Oct. 23, 2025
Immigration protest
Roughly half a day before the incident, demonstrators had gathered at the entrance to Coast Guard Island to protest the planned deployment of federal agents for immigration operations. By the time the shooting occurred, most of the protesters had dispersed, leaving only a small group at the site.
There had been some tense moments early Thursday morning, however, when protesters were seen surrounding a Border Patrol truck, and authorities deployed tear gas into the crowd, where two people said they were injured.
Authorities deploy flash bang devices to quell protesters at Coast Guard Island. Oct. 23, 2025
Immigration ‘surge’ called off
Before noon, President Donald Trump and San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie surprised the Bay Area by saying the immigration “surge,” as the president called it, had been called off, as Silicon Valley leaders and the mayor had changed his mind.
Trump specifically gave credit to Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, one of the world’s most valuable tech companies, and Marc Benioff, CEO of software company Salesforce, as influencing him.
He said they told him San Francisco was working hard to reduce crime.
“So we are holding off that surge, everybody. And we’re going to let them see if they can do it,” Trump said. He said he could change his mind if it “doesn’t work out.”
Embarcadero between Livingston and Dennison streets remained closed Friday morning as investigators continued to collect evidence.