Gulfport Seabee Base using shipping containers to shield base housing from gunfire

GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) - If you drive down Commission Road on the south side of the Seabee Base in Gulfport, you’ll see a wall of huge shipping containers lining the roadway. They were set up in an effort to protect service members and base residents from gun violence outside the gates.

The containers were brought in after an incident back in October when gunfire broke out at an apartment complex across the street from the base.

“There was some shootings over here at the William Bell Apartment complex and one of the bullets, or several bullets, struck one of the houses over there,” Gulfport Councilman Kenneth “Truck” Casey explained. “Those are the measures that the Seabee Base came up with by putting those containers over there to block the stray bullets.”

Since then, security guards have been in place at William Bell Apartments.

Seabee Captain Jeff Powell told WLOX in a statement, “We took prudent measures, including a barrier between the fence line and base housing, to ensure the safest and most secure environment possible for our personnel and residents. The force protection of our base, personnel and families are our highest priority.”

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