Shrapnel hit police vehicle during Marine Corps demonstration at SoCal's Camp Pendleton: department

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Metal shrapnel from an explosive ordinance fired during the U.S. Marine Corps' 250th day solemnisation astatine Camp Pendleton connected Saturday deed a California Highway Patrol vehicle, the bureau published successful an interior report.

The celebration, which included a subject workout utilizing unrecorded artillery fire, unopen down a 17-mile agelong of the 5 Freeway successful some directions disconnected and connected for astir 4 hours, stranding drivers for hours.

CHP says astir 1:46 p.m., an explosive ordnance that was fired implicit the freeway prematurely detonated overhead from White's Beach, astir three-quarters of a mile southbound of Las Pulgas Road, striking and damaging a CHP patrol conveyance arsenic officers were supporting the postulation closure. The shrapnel besides reportedly deed a CHP motorcycle, but it was not damaged.

"This was an antithetic and concerning situation," said CHP Border Division Chief Tony Coronado. "It is highly uncommon for immoderate live-fire oregon explosive grooming enactment to hap implicit an progressive freeway. As a Marine myself, I person tremendous respect for our subject partners, but my foremost work is ensuring the information of the radical of California and the officers who support them."

CHP said nary injuries were reported, and officers instantly notified the Marine Corps, who past canceled firing further ordnance implicit the freeway.

"The CHP has filed an interior study connected the incident, with a proposal to behaviour an further after-action reappraisal into the planning, connection and coordination betwixt federal, state, and section authorities astir the lawsuit connected Saturday, October 18, to fortify protocols for aboriginal demonstrations and grooming events adjacent nationalist roadways," a CHP connection read.

In a post connected X, Gov. Gavin Newsom said, "We emotion our Marines and beryllium a indebtedness of gratitude to Camp Pendleton, but adjacent time, the Vice President and the White House shouldn't beryllium truthful reckless with people's lives for their vanity projects."

This comes aft a back-and-forth disagreement betwixt Newsom and the Marines via X connected whether oregon not to unopen down the 5 Freeway for the celebration.

The authorities was asked connected Friday to enactment signage on the freeway that work "Overhead occurrence successful progress," according to a connection from Newsom's office. Early Saturday morning, the national authorities informed the authorities that the unrecorded occurrence activities were scheduled for Saturday afternoon.

While the Marines stated they would not request to unopen down the freeway during unrecorded firing from Navy ships onto land, CHP elected to halt postulation retired of caution that idiosyncratic could get wounded oregon drivers could beryllium distracted.

A spokesperson for Vice President JD Vance -- who was successful attendance astatine Camp Pendleton -- declined to remark and deferred to the First Marine Expeditionary Force, which said they are committed to determining the incident's basal origin and applying findings to aboriginal missions.