SAN DIEGO (FOX 5\/KUSI) \u2014 California politicians are demanding answers from the federal government on live fire shooting that prompted a full closure of the 5 freeway in San Diego County.<\/p>\n
Twenty six California House Representatives and the state\u2019s two U.S. Senators, Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, have sent a letter to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, asking what exactly happened, and what led up to the live firing during the Marine Corps\u2019 250th Birthday celebration on October 18<\/a>, which Vice President JD Vance and Hegseth were attending.<\/p>\n I-5 freeway temporarily shuts down for live fire exercise at Camp Pendleton <\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWho is responsible for making the call to fire live ammunition over the freeway?\u201d U.S. Representative Mike Levin is asking. He helped lead the letter to Hegseth and has asked for a response by October 29.<\/p>\n Some of the 13 questions they want answers to include:<\/p>\n \u201cHow did the USMC and relevant components prepare for this event? When did the Please describe the process the USMC conducted under the \u201cdetailed risk assessment.\u201d<\/p>\n Who directed the USMC to conduct the artillery demonstration over Interstate 5? Who Who made the final decision that the federal government would not require the closure of What caused the round to detonate prematurely? Are there any plans to update safety Just days before the event, the Marine Corps had said in a news release that \u201cno public highways or transportation routes will be closed.\u201d But the morning of the celebration, California Governor Gavin Newsom and California Highway Patrol announced the closure of the 5 freeway for several hours that Saturday, over safety concerns that live fire was being shot over the active freeway.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t fire over the 5,\u201d Levin said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re lobbying these missiles basically across a freeway, that\u2019s a very bad idea,\u201d U.S. Representative Juan Vargas said. \u201cTo our understanding it\u2019s never been done before, they don\u2019t have any permission to do it, they did it to show off.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat happened I think was really disconcerting,\u201d Peters said. \u201cI was really concerned there wasn\u2019t any coordination between the state and the federal government about what was going on.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJust the idea about not communicating with the state about what we\u2019re planning to do leaving us in a position to guess if we should close a highway its really dysfunctional,\u201d Peters added. \u201cI think the governor made the prudent decision to close the highway and they made fun of it. They said he was overreacting, but he was not overreacting because one of the shells hit a CHP car.\u201d<\/p>\n VP Vance joins Marines to celebrate 250th anniversary at Camp Pendleton <\/a><\/p>\n CHP officials said that metal shrapnel from an explosive ordnance that was fired over Interstate 5 hit a California Highway Patrol cruiser.<\/p>\n CHP Border Division Chief Tony Coronado called the incident \u201cunusual\u201d and a \u201cconcerning situation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt is highly uncommon for any live-fire or explosive training activity to occur over an active freeway. As a Marine myself, I have tremendous respect for our military partners, but my foremost responsibility is ensuring the safety of the people of California and the officers who protect them,\u201d Coronado said.<\/p>\n He said that the cruiser was hit while stopping traffic, and they immediately told the Marines, who then canceled firing additional rounds over the 5 freeway.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they want to do live fire, they should be able to do live fire. But lets plan this thing out, let\u2019s just not do it haphazardly,\u201d Vargas said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the Marine Corps, at least the folks on base, were overruled by the administration \u2014 whether it was by Vance, Hegseth, or somebody that works for them, I don\u2019t know and that\u2019s why we need to find out,\u201d Levin said.<\/p>\n PHOTOS: Marine Corps\u2019 250th anniversary celebrated at Camp Pendleton <\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI think it will be one of those things where we will not drop it and I hope that at some point in the next months and years I\u2019ll have subpoena power,\u201d Levin said, referring to not having the majority, and he said once he has the power he will be \u201cdemanding the answers rather than requesting them.\u201d<\/p>\n Read the full signed letter sent to Hegseth below:<\/p>\n hegseth_letter_re_i-5_closures<\/a>Download<\/a><\/p>\n We have reached out to Marine Corps officials with a list of questions as well, they have not yet responded to the questions, but confirmed there\u2019s an active investigation.<\/p>\n Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n
USMC and relevant components begin preparing for this event?<\/p>\n
made the final decision that the live fire demonstration was considered to be safe? When
was this decision made?<\/p>\n
Interstate 5?<\/p>\n
protocol to prevent future incidents from occurring?\u201d<\/p>\n