U.S. Coast Guard Shoots Engine Of Fleeing Smuggling Boat Off San Diego

A U.S. Coast Guard patrol crew intercepted a smuggling attempt Sunday evening after disabling the engine of a fleeing vessel about seven miles off Mission Bay. Seven foreign nationals aboard the boat were taken into custody and handed over to federal authorities.

At about 5:10 p.m., a Coast Guard response boat crew spotted a 25-foot cuddy cabin vessel drifting in U.S. territorial waters near Mission Bay. When approached, the boat unexpectedly accelerated southward toward the Mexican maritime boundary, which led to a Coast Guard chase.

Officials said the fleeing boat ignored repeated orders to stop. The Coast Guard first fired warning shots and then 15 non-lethal pepper-ball rounds. These attempts failed to halt the vessel, which instead rammed the patrol boat, causing minor damage.

In response, the Coast Guard crew fired three “precision rounds” into the vessel’s starboard engine, effectively stopping it about four nautical miles southwest of Point Loma, around 15-20 nautical miles from where the chase began and less than 10 nautical miles from the U.S.-Mexico maritime boundary.

The boat carried seven Mexican men. No serious injuries were reported, though some felt irritation from the pepper-balls. Both the crew and the vessel were taken into custody and transferred to the Department of Homeland Security for further processing.

The last case in San Diego involving disabling fire was on May 10, when a cabin cruiser carrying eight foreign nationals was stopped after failing to heed warnings.

According to reports, the Coast Guard has tripled its patrol boat fleet in Southern California this year to fight illegal immigration and smuggling at sea.

Reference: USCG

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