Investigations against army special forces after shooting

An Army special forces officer is under investigation after he shot and killed a utility company worker outside a soldier’s home near Fort Liberty.

The news came this week after the Moore County Sheriff’s Department released more information about a May 3 shooting in Carthage, North Carolina, about 35 miles west of the U.S. military base. Officers were dispatched to a private home at 8:15 p.m. that evening after receiving a 911 call that a man had entered the home. The man “became aggressive,” the caller said. When officers arrived, they found 35-year-old Ramzan Daraev shot to death. The shooter is an Army officer who had been staying at the home.

Authorities said Daraev worked as a subcontractor for Utilities One, a New Jersey-based utility company, and lived in Chicago, Illinois. The 911 call said Daraev took photos of the house.

“No identification documents were found on Daraev. However, his identity was later confirmed through family members and an international identification card found in his vehicle,” the sheriff’s office said in a May 22 update.

No charges have been filed against the soldier, who local media has confirmed is an officer serving with the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, as of press time. The shooting is currently under investigation. All parties are cooperating, the Moore County Sheriff’s Office said. Law enforcement is still working to confirm Daraev’s employment status at Utilities One. The Federal Bureau of Investigation provided a translator to local law enforcement to help interview other people who allegedly work at Utilities One. In addition, authorities have contacted the U.S. Department of Labor and Occupational Safety and Health Administration and reported the incident.

Details of the exact incident are unclear, including what caused the situation to escalate to a firearm being drawn and fired. The sheriff’s department said Daraev suffered more than one gunshot wound and was found “approximately 250 yards from the road, along a power line on the residential property.” According to a Change.org petition set up by Daraev’s family, he was shot four times: once in the hand, twice in the back and once in the face. The sheriff’s department noted that Daraev was not carrying any work tools or clothing at the time of the shooting. Daraev was photographing work he had completed when the incident began, his family said.

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Task & Purpose reached out to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command and the Army Criminal Investigations Division. CID acknowledged our request but did not respond as of press time.

According to the petition on Change.org, Daraev is originally from Chechnya. The same post said that Daraev was not carrying a weapon and that the army officer was released after “a brief interrogation” by police.

“Ramzan left Russia without knowing that the greatest injustice would befall him in a free country where, in theory, he should have enjoyed protection,” the family writes.

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