Soldier assigned to 3rd Special Forces Group charged with murder

Army Sgt. Rolondo Boone was arrested on Aug. 28.
Army Sgt. Rolondo Boone
Army Sgt. Rolondo Boone was arrested on Aug. 28, 2023 and charged with first degree murder in connection with an April 2 shooting. Boone is a unit supply specialist for 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Liberty, North Carolina. (Fayetteville Police Department)

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An Army supply sergeant assigned to 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, has been charged with murder after a shooting at an off-base hookah bar.

Police in Fayetteville, North Carolina have charged Army Sgt. Rolondo Boone, 28, with first degree murder in connection with the April 2 shooting that killed one person and wounded four others, police officials said.

Boone, 28, was arrested on Aug. 28 after investigators identified him as the man they believe shot and killed Anthony Bradshaw, a 30-year-old civilian, at the EV Lounge, according to a news release posted on the Fayetteville Police Department’s Facebook page.

“The investigation revealed a disturbance took place prior to the shooting,” the news release says. “Boone is being held at the Cumberland County Detention Center under no bond.”

Boone is a unit supply specialist for 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Liberty but he is neither a Green Beret nor Special Forces qualified, according to the Army. Rather his position supports operations in the group.

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Boone enlisted in the Army in September 2018 and arrived at Fort Liberty the following year, said Army Maj. Russell M. Gordon, a spokesman for 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne). Boone’s military awards include the Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, and the Army Service Ribbon.

“We take any allegations of criminal behavior seriously and condemn any act that undermines the values we stand far,” Gordon told Task & Purpose on Wednesday. “The alleged actions do not reflect the character or integrity of the thousands of men and women serving in special operations. We remain committed to upholding the highest standards of good order and discipline while holding each other accountable when those same standards are not met.”

The Fayetteville Observer first reported on Tuesday about Boone’s arrest. On the night of the shooting, Boone and Bradshaw were part of opposing groups of people that got into an altercation, after which one of Boone’s friends allegedly shot one of the hookah lounge’s staff, according to the newspaper, which cited a probable cause affidavit.

Boone is accused of going to his vehicle and then shooting Bradshaw in the lounge’s doorway, according to the Fayetteville Observer. Boone was one of a total of five people who were shot during the incident.

The April 2 incident is the second fatal shooting this year involving a soldier at Fort Liberty assigned to a special operations unit.  Staff Sgt. Brandon A. Amos-Dixon, a culinary specialist assigned to U.S. Army Special Operations Command, has been charged with first degree murder in connection with the death of Staff Sgt. Jimmy Lee Smith III, 24.

Smith was serving as a culinary specialist assigned to the Group Support Battalion for 3rd Special Forces Group when he was killed on Jan. 18 in Raeford, North Carolina.

Amos-Dixon is also accused of firing several shots into a car with his fiancé and her daughter inside roughly 90 minutes before Smith was found dead of gunshot wounds, according to the Harnett County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina. His fiancé was wounded as she drove away.

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