A military base in Mississippi has fortified itself and created a protective barrier with the use of storage containers. Their intention? To protect the houses located on the naval installation from the constant gunfire in Gulport.
A year ago, the base placed a total of twenty storage containers around its perimeter. It happened in October after five residences received gunfire triggered by a shooting that took place at the apartment complex across the street, according to Gulfport City Councilman Kenneth "Truck" Casey:
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. Those are the measures that the Seabee Base came up with by putting those containers over there to block the stray bullets.
The barrier, a "temporary solution" to protect the base
According to Gulfport Naval Construction Battalion Center Captain Jeff Powell, the barrier is a solution to "ensure the safest and most secure environment possible for our personnel and residents," he told a local television station:
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.
Becky Shaw, a spokeswoman for the military installation, assured that the barrier was not intended to be permanent, only a "temporary solution." A measure until the city took precautions to prevent shootings: "The force protection of our base, personnel, and families is our highest priority," she said.
Gulfport is one of the areas most affected in recent years by shootings. According to NBC News, a decade ago there were between two or three homicides a year in the town. Since 2019, the number of murders escalated and stood at about 10 per year. Incidents that they intend to prevent at the base by installing this wall of containers.
