SAN DIEGO – The Marine Corps launched an investigation after the California Highway Patrol said shrapnel from an artillery shell, fired during a live-fire demonstration promoted by the White House, hit a police vehicle.
No injuries were reported when an artillery round “detonated prematurely” during the Marine Corps’ 250th anniversary celebration Saturday at Camp Pendleton, the highway patrol said.
But at least one of its patrol vehicles, which was available to help stop and divert traffic on Interstate 5 through the base during the demonstration, was damaged, the highway patrol said in a statement Sunday.
“This was an unusual and concerning situation,” CHP Border Division Chief Tony Coronado, who also identified himself as a Marine, said in the statement. “It is very rare for any training activity involving live fire or explosives to occur on an active highway.”
Capt. Gregory Dreibelbis, a spokesman for I Marine Expeditionary Force, said in a statement Sunday that officials “are aware of the report of a possible aerial detonation of a 155mm artillery projectile outside the designated impact area” during Saturday’s Marine Corps amphibious capabilities demonstration.
Images from a CHP incident report show a black and white unit with a hood apparently riddled with shrapnel, as well as multiple fragments of ammunition. The report indicated the fragment in the hood measured about 2 inches by 2 inches. According to a CHP map, the vehicle was on Interstate 5 and Las Pulgas Road, nearly a mile north of the Red Beach protest along the northernmost coast of San Diego County, when it was struck.
The report says an officer on a motorcycle also found a fragment measuring approximately 1 inch by half an inch near his own vehicle.
The CHP said the strike occurred as officers were temporarily stopping traffic on the highway to keep motorists out of harm’s way during the demonstration.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom had criticized the plan to fire live ammunition over the interstate in the days leading up to Saturday’s celebrations, which were attended by Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who spoke at the event.
Newsom, a Democrat who has repeatedly clashed with the Trump administration, had criticized the potential impact of a temporary closure of Interstate 5, carrying 80,000 vehicles a day, and said state officials were denied sufficient notice of a dangerous and “absurd show of force.”
“This could have killed someone,” Newsom said Sunday on X.
When asked for a response to the CHP report of a shrapnel hit, Newsom spokesperson Diana Crofts-Pelayo also pointed to a post on the governor’s office’s X account: “We love our Marines and owe Camp Pendleton a debt of gratitude, but next time, the vice president and the White House shouldn’t be so reckless with people’s lives for their vanity projects.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.
In the run-up to Saturday’s celebrations, Trump administration officials had called complaints about live-fire demonstrations and resulting highway closures an overreaction.
“Gavin Newsom wants people to think this exercise is dangerous,” William Martin, Vance’s communications director, said in a statement to the New York Times. “The Marine Corps says it’s an established and safe practice. Newsom wants people to think this is an absurd show of force. The Marine Corps says it’s part of routine training at Camp Pendleton.”
Dreibelbis, the Navy spokesman, said safety protocols were observed.
“The demonstration went through a rigorous security assessment and deliberate layers of redundancy to ensure the safety of fellow citizens,” he said, adding that live firing was suspended on Saturday in accordance with safety protocols.
The CHP said it wants to conduct a review and create better communication with federal officials. Dreibelbis said the Marine Corps has launched an investigation and also wants to learn from the incident.
“We are committed to determining the root cause of the incident and applying the findings to future missions,” he said.
Elyse Perlmutter-Gumbiner, beak feather and Madeline Morrison contributed.
