Boaters in Harbour questioned in weapons charge
Five boaters were detained in Huntington Harbour and face possible
firearms charges after they allegedly shot off World War II-era guns from
their 40-foot cruiser near the Port of Los Angeles over the weekend, said
United States Coast Guard officials.
The five boaters’ names are being withheld pending a joint
investigation being conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms and the Long Beach Police Department, said Latese Baker,
spokeswoman for the Los Angeles office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco
and Firearms.
No arrests have been made.Authorities received a call Saturday from
another boater who reported hearing gunfire near the Port of Los Angeles,
which prompted Coast Guard authorities to send a 41-foot rescue boat and
an 87-foot patrol boat to investigate, said Dan Tremper, spokesman for
the Coast Guard.
Authorities boarded the cruiser shortly after it returned to
Huntington Harbour on Saturday where they found three guns.
“They found three weapons that were pretty serious weaponry of the
machine gun and semiautomatic type,” he said.
The guns are in the custody of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms.
Authorities are waiting until they get more information from the
investigation before they determine what they will do with the guns,
Baker said.
Although the Coast Guard doesn’t consider this incident a terrorist
threat, port security has been stepped up since Sept. 11, Tramper said.
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