San Diego military base erupts into gunfire after man with knife attempts to crash gate

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More than 200 shots fired, up to 17 people injured and one guard shot after man who entered base with knife rushed gate and attacked security officers

San Diego military base erupts into gunfire after man with knife attempts to crash gate

Gunfire erupted on a US military base in San Diego on Tuesday after a guard shot and injured a man who had just stormed the gate, sending hundreds of soldiers running into the streets.

Police and fire crews flooded a downtown section of the San Diego bay after emergency officials said 17 people were hurt, including the man who had shot a security guard with a knife.

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The suspect, who was not immediately identified, had no weapons in his possession and was unharmed after the incident on the Marine Corps base.

The base is home to Camp Pendleton, the largest Marine Corps base in the country, as well as Camp Roberts, a national park and a residential complex, the base told its military families on social media.

The base, one of the US military’s largest, is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, among other locations.

ABC7 (@ABC7) HAPPENING NOW: Multiple injuries reported at Camp Pendleton pic.twitter.com/w5wTicJp1U

A witness, who said he was up in a base stairwell when he heard the shots, told the local CBS affiliate he saw several men with gunshot wounds.

“A lot of blood coming out,” said 30-year-old Mike Murphy.

ABC7 (@ABC7) HAPPENING NOW: Multiple injuries reported at Camp Pendleton https://t.co/hUl7rGgKfQ pic.twitter.com/iYrzAS2zkN

The man who entered the base had climbed a tall fence and approached the gate with a long knife in his hand before police shot him, Lieutenant Alex Bastian said.

The suspect had been listed as a detainee in court documents from an incident where he was charged with assault and battery with a deadly weapon in 2015.

“We are also aware of the possibility the individual has mental health issues,” Bastian said.

Military posts can come under attack from people who are angry about their treatment in the military or upset at the United States’ military involvement abroad.

The most deadly attack on a US military base occurred in 2009 when a man charged into the gates of the Marine Corps air station in Amman, Jordan, and opened fire, killing two Marines and a sailor. The gunman, who had claimed to be an undercover CIA agent, was shot dead by military personnel.

More than 300 people were killed and more than 3,000 injured in shootings at US military posts from 2000 to 2013, according to a February 2014 study by the investigative news organization ProPublica.

More than 350 people have been killed by military personnel in California since 2006, according to state government data. There were 20 such incidents in 2017, according to a separate study.

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