Soldier justified in shooting ‘suspicious’ Russian in yard taking photos, NC cops say

A U.S. Army Special Forces soldier was justified in fatally shooting an “aggressive” Russian national photographing utility poles in his yard for a survey project, according to investigators in North Carolina.

The man who died was identified as Ramzan Daraev, “a Russian native from Chechnya who entered the United States across the southern border in mid-December 2022 and has since been living in Chicago, Illinois,” according to an Aug. 12 news release from the Moore County Sheriff’s Office.

Moore County is among four counties that include portions of the U.S. Army’s Fort Liberty, home of the 82nd Airborne Division and more than 43,000 active-duty soldiers. Investigators say the early-May shooting was justified “under the North Carolina Castle Doctrine, which allows for the use of defensive force in situations where there is a perceived imminent threat to personal and family safety within one’s home or property.”

Read more: Charlotte News Observer