Update on the Chechen nationals involved in a Moore County shooting
The Moore County Sheriff's Office says the investigation has concluded
Back in May, I dropped a story about two Chechen nationals involved in a shooting on May 3 on a homeowner’s private property in Carthage, North Carolina, near Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg), home to U.S. Special Operations forces. The property is the residence of a U.S. Army Special Forces soldier.
Catch up on that story here:
On Aug. 12, the Moore County Sheriff’s Office issued a rather lengthy statement on Facebook, which I have summarized below.
The Moore County Sheriff's Office concluded its investigation into the May 3, 2024 shooting death of Ramzan Daraev at a U.S. Army Special Forces soldier's residence in Carthage, North Carolina.
No charges will be filed against the homeowner, as the shooting was deemed justifiable under the North Carolina Castle Doctrine. The Special Forces soldier remains unidentified, likely for security reasons.
Daraev, a Russian native from Chechnya who entered the U.S. in December 2022, was conducting utility work for “Cable Warriors,” a subcontractor of Utilities One. The homeowner's wife observed Daraev taking photographs near their remote residence at dusk, which raised security concerns. After a confrontation, the homeowner shot Daraev when he reportedly became aggressive and lunged at him.
The Sheriff's Office has kept case materials accessible to the FBI and Army Criminal Investigation Division and has requested an OSHA investigation into the work practices surrounding this incident.
Several suspicious behaviors by the utility workers were highlighted in the press release, including mention of a “Russian cloud server.”
1. "There was nothing on his person or in his vehicle indicating that he was conducting utility work."
2. "Other recovered images indicated that it was common practice for this group to conduct utility work after dark with no evidence that any property owners were notified." Yet, "Other workers in the utility industry told investigators that conducting utility work near dark on or near private property, especially during non-emergency activities, without identifying clothing and without notifying the homeowner is not common practice."
3. "The Moore County Sheriff's Office is continuing to assess the operational background of Utilities One and Cable Warriors, the subcontractor for whom Daraev was employed. Investigators are also reviewing digital evidence containing electrical infrastructure maps related to the utility expansion provided to employees from a Russian cloud server."
Here is the link to the full press release by the Moore County Sheriff’s Office.