A recent shooting incident in Carthage, North Carolina, near Fort Liberty, formerly Fort Bragg, has raised eyebrows due to the involvement of two Chechen men and the proximity to U.S. Special Operations forces. The investigation into the incident involves the Army Criminal Investigation Division and local police, with the FBI providing language assistance.
On May 3rd, at approximately 8:15 p.m., a shooting occurred in Carthage, North Carolina, near Fort Liberty, formerly known as Fort Bragg. The incident began with a phone call reporting a suspected trespasser near a Special Forces soldier's property. Upon investigation, two Chechen men who spoke broken English were found near the soldier's home.
According to the family of the Special Forces soldier, the suspected intruder, 35-year-old Ramzan Daraev of Chicago, was allegedly taking photos of their children. When confronted near a power line in a wooded area of the property, an altercation ensued, leading to Daraev being shot several times at close range.
A second Chechen man, Dzhankutov Adsalan, was found in a vehicle some distance from the incident. He was questioned by authorities and later released. The Moore County Sheriff's office is currently leading the investigation.
The FBI has confirmed that it has provided a linguist to assist with the language barrier during interviews. Additionally, Special Operations soldiers have reported strange interactions in recent years, including suspicious surveillance of themselves and their families, leading to concerns that U.S. military bases are being targeted by foreign probes.
The shooter has been identified as a Colonel in the U.S. Army who resided at the location of the shooting. The incident is being investigated as a potential case of mistaken identity, as the two Chechen men had no personal identification with them. However, they did possess cell phones with Russian language contacts and camera equipment.
Daraev was reportedly working as a subcontractor for Utilities One, a New Jersey-based company, at the time of his death. However, investigators are still verifying his official employment and immigration status. At the time of the incident, Daraev was not in possession of any utility equipment or identification.
The incident has been reported to the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Sources within U.S. intelligence suggest that "power company employment is often a cover for status/action" used for surveillance of foreign targets overseas.
Eighteen months prior to this shooting incident, Moore County experienced a mysterious shooting attack targeting two electrical distribution substations. Damage from the attack left up to 40,000 residential and business customers without power for nearly two weeks, primarily affecting communities heavily populated by U.S. Special Operations families.
The FBI took over the investigation of the substation incident, which remains unsolved. The FBI had previously issued a warning about increased threats to electric infrastructure from individuals espousing "racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist ideology."
The recent shooting in Carthage has raised concerns within the Special Operations community, who question why two Russian-speaking Chechens were taking photos near an elite Army special forces residence and why the FBI is not the lead in the investigation. The FBI has stated that it has not opened a counterintelligence investigation and is only providing assistance with the language barrier.
