1 Killed in Fight Between Elite Special Operations Soldiers

The incident happened at house outside Fort Bragg
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 24, 2018 1:09 PM CDT
Member of Green Berets Killed in Fight With Fellow Soldier
In this photo taken Friday, April 21, 2017 a United States flag patch adorns the uniform of a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team during a training exercise at Fort Bragg, N.C.   (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

A member of a National Guard Green Beret unit was killed during a fight with a fellow elite Army special operations soldier Wednesday in North Carolina, ABC News reports. Sgt. 1st Class Mark Leshikar and an unnamed soldier had returned to a house outside Fort Bragg following a vacation in Florida with their families when Leshikar was kicked out of the house for an unknown reason. A senior defense official says a child let Leshikar back into the house, where he attacked the unidentified soldier with a screwdriver. The soldier then shot the 33-year-old Leshikar, the official says. According to WNCN, Leshikar was pronounced dead at the scene.

The unidentified soldier was still on the scene when deputies arrived at the house in Fayetteville, a sheriff's office spokesperson tells the Fatyetteville Observer. No charges have yet been filed against the soldier. An Army Special Operations Command spokesperson wouldn't confirm the soldier's identity, but the defense official says the shooter is an active duty soldier on a Special Missions unit. Leshikar was a member of the 19th Special Forces Group, a National Guard Green Beret unit. (More shooting stories.)

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