Tori J. Ross 
SAN DIEGO — A person who investigators believe was armed with a knife was fatally shot by base personnel at the main visitor entrance of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego on Friday, MCRD officials say .
The fatal shooting occurred around 11:50 a.m. when a vehicle drove to the base entrance near Washington Street near Pacific Highway and attempted to drive through a checkpoint, officials said. military law enforcement.
As base security yelled for the vehicle to stop, MCRD officials said the person got out of his small SUV and approached the employees with a knife. Several other warnings were given, but the person appeared to have “hostile intent”, a base spokesman said.
At least one official opened fire and the person collapsed just inside the base property. Emergency services were called and the person was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:16 p.m., the spokesman confirmed.
It was not immediately clear why the driver came to base in the first place on Friday. Because it occurred on federal property, the shooting is being investigated by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a military law enforcement agency.
Located just north of San Diego International Airport, the MCRD serves as the first training stop for enlisted recruits entering the US Marine Corps on the West Coast.
The Washington Street entrance, Gate 5, is used for visitor traffic, according to the MCRD website. This area was bounded by crime scene tape and the SUV could be seen sitting with its doors open in one of the lanes. A tarp covered the body of the person shot a short distance away, under the awning of the gate.
As Andrew Dyer of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Friday, the depot celebrates its 100th anniversary as a Marine Corps base this year. A spokesperson told Dyer that a new exhibit was opening at a drop-in museum to mark the centenary, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, public access is limited to drop-off days only. diplomas.
It was not immediately clear if a public event was taking place at the time of the shooting.
Domenick Candelieri contributed to this report.
