The Moore County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina says a Special Forces officer stationed at Fort Liberty acted lawfully under state law when he shot and killed a man taking photos on his property in May.

“The homeowner’s actions were deemed justified under the North Carolina Castle Doctrine, which allows the use of force in self-defense in situations where there is an imminent threat to personal and family safety in one’s home or on one’s property,” the sheriff’s office wrote on its Facebook page.

But the dead man’s brother told Task & Purpose he was surprised by the verdict and insisted his brother was a law-abiding worker who fled to America to escape the war in Ukraine.

On May 3, the unnamed special forces officer confronted Ramzan Daraev, 35, who worked for Cable Warriors, a subcontractor of Utilities One, and was conducting surveys in the area for the expansion of the fiber optic network, according to the sheriff’s office.

Daraev was born in Chechnya and later moved to the United States. Daraev’s brother, Roman, told Task & Purpose that no one in his family had ever worked for the Russian government, and he called speculation that his brother might have been a spy “nonsense.”

In fact, Ramzan Daraev fled Russia to avoid being drafted into the Russian army and to fight in Ukraine, his brother said. After entering the United States through Mexico, Ramzan Daraev applied for political asylum.

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“My brother was a very humble person,” said Roman Daraev. “He never did anything wrong in his entire life.”

The shooting attracted national attention because the gunman, whose name was not disclosed, was a Special Forces soldier and the man killed was an immigrant from Russia.

The officer’s wife called 911 twice during the incident, but after her first call, it took more than 20 minutes for police to arrive on the scene because deputies were dealing with another life-threatening emergency unrelated to the incident and were unable to respond in time, the sheriff’s office said.

Her second distress call was much more urgent than the first. She was begging for help while her husband could be heard screaming for her.

“She secured a rifle during one of the calls, reflecting the perceived threat,” the sheriff’s office said. “The shooting is believed to have occurred shortly after the second call, just before officers arrived on the scene.”

A spokesman for the U.S. Army Special Operations Command thanked the Moore County Sheriff’s Office for its diligence and for bringing closure to the case.

The fact that Daraev was a Russian citizen led the media to question why he had taken photos of a special forces officer’s home. Fox News noted that U.S. intelligence officials often pose as utility workers during surveillance missions abroad. However, the FBI did not launch a counterintelligence investigation into the matter.

However, the Moore County Sheriff’s investigation raised several questions about Ramzan Daraev’s conduct on the day of the shooting. It was found that he was not wearing any clothing or identification identifying him as a utility worker and that he conducted the investigation in the dark near private property without notifying the homeowners beforehand, which is not a common practice in the industry.

About two hours before the shooting, a deputy approached Daraev, who was less than a mile from his residence, and ordered him to move his vehicle, which was partially blocking a road. The deputy documented the encounter and let Daraev go.

“Following the shooting, the Sheriff’s Office received several reports from concerned citizens who reported seeing individuals on private property in the same area the evening of the incident,” the Sheriff’s Office said. “These individuals are believed to be associated with the group working with Daraev. None of the citizens who made these reports were aware that the individuals they observed on their properties were performing utility work.”

The confrontation between the special forces officer and Daraev began in the evening. Investigators found maps showing that Daraev’s work area also included a power pole about 35 meters from the officer’s house.

“Digital evidence confirmed that Daraev was taking photos of utility poles in the direction of the residence, which the homeowner allegedly interpreted as him taking photos of the home and his children,” the sheriff’s office noted. Reports from the homeowner indicated that Daraev was much closer to the home than in the last photo provided to Utilities One.”

The officer’s wife and her children were outside when Daraev took photos. She told her husband, who tried to talk to Daraev and then asked him to leave.

“According to the homeowner, Daraev became aggressive and refused to leave the property. At one point he claimed he was a Chechen citizen and had served in the Russian army and fought in Ukraine. However, investigators were unable to establish Daraev’s previous status as a soldier serving abroad,” the sheriff’s office noted.

The officer retrieved a handgun from his home and returned outside to confront Daraev while his wife called for help. According to the sheriff’s office, Daraev allegedly became agitated during the altercation, repeatedly refused to leave the property and then lunged at the officer.

“The homeowner stated he fired several shots in response to Daraev’s advance,” the sheriff’s office noted. “Under the North Carolina Castle Doctrine, the homeowner’s actions are protected, providing legal justification for the use of defensive force.”

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