A utility worker was taking pictures of power lines in an area of rural NC when he was shot four times by a property owner who also happens to be a member of Delta force. The man was shot in the hand, the back, and then a final kill shot to the face. He was unarmed at the time he was shot. The man shot was from Chechnya. Other details are sparse.
There are some morons on social media claiming that Delta has permission to kill anyone taking photos of them or their families because “national security” demands that maintaining the secrecy of the identities of Delta and their families is of utmost importance. That’s nonsense. Shooting an unarmed man in the back before walking up and delivering the coup de grace to the face is not self defense, and no, the US military doesn’t have an unlimited license to kill people who are taking pictures of them.
Such a policy would be a violation of the Constitutional rights of the people being shot.
Not only that, but killing an enemy agent without interrogating him first is poor doctrine from an intelligence standpoint, so killing him wouldn’t be the smartest thing to do. Capturing and questioning him for intelligence is the smarter move.
No, this guy can’t excuse executing someone. Whether or not he gets protected by the government is another matter entirely, but this certainly looks like murder to me, judging by the sparse facts that are available.
The last thing we want is for government agents to have a license to kill by simply declaring “national security because Delta force, bitch.” Everyone has due process rights. In the absence of exigent circumstances like self defense, no one has the right to kill anyone else, not for national security reasons or any other similar ninja bullshit.