Shrapnel from artillery that was detonated during
celebrations for the US Marine Corps hit at least two vehicles on a California
highway on Saturday, officials have said.
The event, celebrating the Marines' 250th birthday, was
attended by Vice President JD Vance, and included live munitions being fired.
The California Highway Patrol said one "detonated overhead
prematurely" and struck two vehicles that were part of Vance's protective
detail.
It came as state officials and the White House fought
over a decision to close part of Interstate 5 for the event in southern
California.
"Firing live rounds
over a busy highway isn't just wrong - it's dangerous," Governor Gavin
Newsom, a Democrat, said.
The highway patrol said no injuries were reported and
they notified the Marine Corps, which then cancelled firing any further
munitions.
"This was an unusual and concerning situation,"
Border Division Chief Tony Coronado said in a statement, adding that such
exercises are not common over an active freeway.
Newsom said he closed a
section of the Interstate 5 "due to extreme life safety
risk and distraction to drivers, including sudden unexpected and loud
explosions".
But before they were aware of the mishap, officials in
the vice-president's office had disputed that the demonstration was dangerous,
and accused the California governor of trying to stoke fears.
The BBC has contacted the White House and
vice-president's office about the shrapnel incident.
"If Gavin Newsom wants to oppose the training
exercises that ensure our Armed Forces are the deadliest and most lethal
fighting force in the world, then he can go right ahead," William Martin,
Vance's communications director, told CNN, before reports about the incident were
known.
"It would come as no
surprise that he would stoop so low considering his pathetic track record of
failure as governor.
Newsom responded to the military mishap by saying that
"Donald Trump and JD Vance put lives at risk to put on a show". He
added that if they wanted to honour troops, they should work to reopen the federal government,
which ran out of funding at the beginning of October.
The First Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton
said in a statement that it was aware of the incident concerning a
155-millimeter shell fired during the event, and that an investigation was
underway.
"The demonstration went through a rigorous safety
evaluation, and deliberate layers of redundancy, to ensure the safety of fellow
citizens," the statement read.
"Following established safety protocols, firing was
suspended. No injuries occurred and the demonstration concluded as
scheduled."
In a police report, California Highway officers said the
two damaged vehicles, which had been used as part of Vance's detail, were then
sent to guard the freeway and keep it closed during the event.
The officers wrote in a report that they saw the
artillery round fail to clear the highway and explode near southbound lanes.
One of the officers said
it sounded like pebbles were raining down on his patrol motorcycle. Several
pieces of shrapnel were found, including one that dented the hood of a patrol
car.
During his remarks in front of hundreds of marines, Vance
recalled his time in the force, railed against the government shutdown and
critiqued previous military diversity initiatives.
"I would not be here today, I would not be the vice
president of the United States, I would not be the man I am today were it not
for those four years that I served in the Marine Corps," he said.
Vance spent four years in the Marines and served a tour
in Iraq in 2005.
But his remarks largely focused on politics, and in part
he attacked "woke" aspects of the military.
"It is our common
purpose, it is our common mission and it is the fact that every single person
here bleeds Marine Corps green," he said.
One of the Trump administration's focuses has been
eliminating diversity initiatives, particularly within the
Pentagon.
Vance also used the stage time to rail against the nearly
three-week long government shutdown and put blame on Democrats, particularly
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
"I bring greetings today from our commander in
chief, Donald J Trump, and he wanted me to tell each and every single one of
you that he's proud of you, that he loves you and that despite the Schumer
shutdown, he is going to do everything he can to make sure you get paid exactly
as you deserve," he said.
While thousands of
federal workers are working without pay, the Defence Department is paying
troops.
