The U.S. military exercise that shot live-fire artillery rounds over Interstate 5 on Saturday dropped metal shrapnel onto a California Highway Patrol protective services detail for Vice President JD Vance, agency officials said Sunday.
The incident occurred shortly after the detail had escorted Vance to the Marine Corps event at Camp Pendleton. The CHP said that the shrapnel was from an explosive ordnance that was fired over Interstate 5 and “detonated overhead prematurely, striking and damaging a CHP patrol vehicle.” A CHP motorcycle with the detail also was struck.
The shrapnel fell in the area around the Las Pulgas Road onramp to the southbound Interstate 5 in northern San Diego County, which cuts through Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. The CHP protective services detail had been ordered to wait there after Vance had been dropped off.
State officials decided to order the closure of the freeway during the live-fire exercise, conducted for the Marine Corps’ 250th anniversary celebration featuring Vance.
A chunk of shrapnel is seen on the hood of a California Highway Patrol vehicle amid a live-fire demonstration at Camp Pendleton.
(California Highway Patrol)
The shrapnel that struck the CHP patrol vehicle was about 2 inches by 2½ inches, according to an incident report by the agency obtained by the Los Angeles Times. No one was in the vehicle when it was struck. The shrapnel left what was described as a “small dent/scratch” on the vehicle’s hood.
Small bits of shrapnel struck the CHP motorcycle. An officer assigned to the protective services detail said he heard what sounded like “pebbles” falling on his motorcycle and an area three feet around him. A metal piece of shrapnel, about an inch in length and half an inch wide, was found near the motorcycle, which was not damaged.
No injuries were reported, the CHP said. State officers immediately contacted the Marines, which then “canceled firing additional live ordnance over the freeway, and the area was swept for further evaluation.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom called the live-ammunition event over one of California’s busiest freeways “reckless.” The section of freeway that was closed for the live-fire demonstration is the only route connecting coastal Orange County to the beach cities of northern San Diego County.
“We love our Marines and owe a debt of gratitude to Camp Pendleton,” Newsom said in a statement posted on X, “but next time, the Vice President and the White House shouldn’t be so reckless with people’s lives for their vanity projects.”
A map shows the direction of ordnance that the CHP says detonated prematurely, dropping shrapnel on Interstate 5.
(California Highway Patrol)
The artillery was planned to be fired at 1:46 p.m., about half an hour after the CHP had stopped traffic along a 17-mile stretch of Interstate 5. The exercise had been expected to last until 1:51 p.m., with about 60 rounds being fired, the CHP said in its report.
The report said that an artillery round shot from White’s Beach and aimed northward “failed to clear the roadway and detonated midflight near Interstate 5 southbound. After the failed round, the exercise was terminated and no additional munitions were fired.”
The round was fired from a piece of artillery known as the M777 Howitzer, which can fire 155mm shells at a range of more than 18 miles. The M777 Howitzer has been used in war zones including Ukraine. In Afghanistan, the M777 Howitzer was directed against insurgents who sought to launch rockets at U.S. forces.
Newsom’s press office on Sunday called on the Trump administration to apologize, noting that the White House’s rapid response team on X accused Newsom of closing Interstate 5 when “nobody at the White House or the Marines” asked him to do so, and asserting that “the Marines repeatedly said there are no public safety concerns” with the military demonstration.
“Without a doubt an apology is owed — to not just Californians, but all Americans,” Newsom’s press office said.
Marines fire an M777 Howitzer at Camp Pendleton during a December 2019 exercise.
(Lance Cpl. Roxanna Ortiz/U.S. Marine Corps)
In the days leading up to the exercise, Newsom had lambasted the White House for failing to coordinate or share safety information ahead of the Marine Corps celebration.
Administration officials, meanwhile, insisted that the Pendleton event was safe and that a freeway closure was unneeded.
Newsom’s office said Thursday that it was told no live fire would go over the freeway. On Friday, however, military event organizers asked the California Department of Transportation for a sign along the I-5 that read, “Overhead fire in progress.”
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On Saturday morning, the state was told that live rounds were set to be shot over the freeway around 1:30 p.m. CHP officials then urged the freeway closure due to safety risk and the likelihood that it would distract drivers.
The closure of the 17-mile stretch of Interstate 5 on Saturday hit one of California’s major traffic choke points, blocking the main route between Los Angeles and San Diego.
Even though it ended up being brief, the closure — from just south of San Clemente to just north of Oceanside — caused massive traffic jams across San Diego and Orange counties.
Many motorists were forced to take a circuitous detour on Interstate 15 that looped around the Santa Ana Mountains — through places including Corona, Lake Elsinore and Temecula — adding an extra hour to the typical travel time.
“LIVE WEAPONS OVER FREEWAY” said an electronic highway sign over Interstate 5.
Traffic was jammed on Interstate 5 Saturday, closed due to the live-fire military demonstration.
(Jonathan Alcorn / For The Times)
“This was an unusual and concerning situation,” CHP Border Division Chief Tony Coronado said in a statement released Sunday.
“It is highly uncommon for any live-fire or explosive training activity to occur over an active freeway,” Coronado said. “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.”
This story originally appeared on LA Times
