A North Dakota National Guard Airman Was Shot and Killed in His Home on Christmas Eve

Military.com | By Thomas Novelly

Published December 28, 2023 at 5:05 pm

A North Dakota Air National Guardsman was shot and killed at his apartment on Christmas Eve, and local police have a suspect in custody.

Master Sgt. Nicholas Van Pelt, 41, of the 219th Security Forces Squadron, died during a shooting at his apartment in Minot, North Dakota, at around 8 p.m. local time Dec. 24, according to a news release from the North Dakota National Guard. A neighbor reported hearing six gunshots from the apartment next to his own and two more shots were heard during the call to the police, according to an affidavit detailing the incident.

Officers said Van Pelt was declared dead at the scene, and a woman was also shot in the upper back and forearm and had to be transported to an area hospital for "life-threatening injuries,” according to the affidavit. The woman, whose name was not disclosed, is an employee in the county's state attorney's office, according to court documents obtained by Military.com.

A suspect, Daniel Breijo, 39, was taken into custody at the scene, according to the documents. He was arrested and charged with murder, attempted murder and causing bodily injury to a corrections officer.

Breijo is "believed to be a law enforcement officer who had been assigned to work with the Ward County Narcotics Task Force," according to the court documents. The Minot Daily News, citing North Dakota legal officials, reported that he is an officer with the Department of Homeland Security.

Jesse Walstad, Breijo's attorney, declined to comment on the case when reached by Military.com on Thursday.

Van Pelt, a native of Georgia, joined the Air Force in 2001 and then became a member of the North Dakota Air National Guard in 2009. He was also a Ward County Sheriff's deputy until May, when he began serving full-time with the 219th Security Forces Squadron, the North Dakota National Guard said in the news release.

"As many in the community are already aware, on Dec. 24, 2023, the life of former Ward County Deputy Nicholas Van Pelt was tragically cut short due to a senseless act of violence," the local law enforcement agency wrote Wednesday on Facebook. "Even though he recently moved on to work full time with the Air National Guard, he was, and always will be, our law enforcement brother."

Van Pelt is survived by three children and his parents, the North Dakota National Guard said.

"This is a tragic event that happened to Master Sgt. Nicholas Van Pelt, and we extend

our sympathies to his friends and family," Maj. Gen. Alan Dohrmann, the North Dakota

adjutant general, said in a news release. "Van Pelt served his nation for more than 14 years as an airman in the North Dakota National Guard and as a defender in 219th Security Forces Squadron. He will always be remembered."

Because Van Pelt, Breijo and the wounded woman are all reportedly connected to either local and state law enforcement or the state attorney's office, an outside judge and special prosecutor were requested for the case. Breijo is scheduled for a pre-trial conference on Feb. 1.

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Air National Guard firefighter’s death reaches 3-year anniversary, fire marshals still investigating

By Jarett Lewis 

December 27, 2023 

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — It has now been three years since the tragic death of Air National Guard firefighter Logan Young.

Young, a senior airman with the Martinsburg-based 167th Airlift Wing, died while battling a barn fire in a rural area of Berkeley County in the early morning hours of Dec. 27, 2020. Investigators said a beam in the barn collapsed and struck him and another fireman. The second victim survived.

The state Fire Marshal’s Office determined that the fire was an arson and there is still an ongoing search for a suspect.

Chief Deputy of the state Fire Marshal’s Office Robbie Bailey said they have received tips over the past three years, but nothing definitive as far as finding the person responsible for intentionally setting the fire.

“We continue to actively work it and chase down any leads that come up,” Bailey said. “Our marshals out in the field continue to track those down.”

A mayday was called sometime around 2:30 a.m. that morning. Three other firefighters were injured while attending to the fire along with Young in the 3800 block of Charles Town Road.

Bailey said they do not consider this case to be a cold one. Their office looks into the fire on a regular basis with weekly discussions.

“It is not put on the shelf, it is very much an active case,” said Bailey.

The Chief Deputy believes there is someone or maybe multiple people that know something in connection to the deadly fire. Even if it might be a small detail, Bailey said that piece of information could be crucial to their ongoing investigation.

“That could end up going together with other information that we already have or that we’re trying to piece together,” said Bailey. “There’s lots of things that we already know, but we feel confident that the right bit of information that could really get some closure for this case.”

A $23,000 reward is being offered for someone that brings forth information regarding that case and the arrest and conviction of those responsible for Young’s death.

Those with information are asked to call 1-800-233-3473. That number is a 24-hour hotline for tips to be left. Those who call can ask to be left anonymous.

Along with being a firefighter, Young was also a combat veteran with a previous deployment to the Middle East in 2014.

Young was the recipient of numerous awards and decorations including the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Service Medal, Air Force Good Conduct Medal and National Defense Service Medal.

Victims in Oregon Small Plane Crash Were Resettled Afghan Refugees

Mohammad Hussain Musawi, center, stands with his flight instructor, left, and Darin Chung, of the Afghan American Development Group, in Independence, Oregon, on April 7, 2023. Musawi and two other men died when a plane he was piloting crashed Dec. 16, 2023. (Nikki Chung via AP)

December 22, 2023 1:27 PM

Associated Press

PORTLAND, OREGON — 

Three men who died in a small plane crash in Oregon were Afghan air force pilots who fought with the American military and came to the U.S. as refugees after Afghanistan fell to the Taliban in 2021, according to groups that helped with their resettlement.

Salem for Refugees said it resettled Mohammad Hussain Musawi, 35, Mohammad Bashir Safdari, 35, and Ali Jan Ferdawsi, 29, in the Salem area last spring. The nonprofit provides financial aid to newly arrived refugees and helps them find housing and employment, among other support services. It said it was devastated by their deaths.

"In 2022, they sought refuge and new beginnings in Oregon, where their kindness, skills, and determination quickly touched the lives of those around them," the group said on a GoFundMe page it created to help cover funeral expenses and support the pilots' families.

The men lost their lives Saturday when a small plane that was piloted by Musawi and carrying Safdari and Ferdawsi as its only passengers crashed into power lines near Independence, a small city in the Willamette Valley about 12 miles (19 kilometers) southwest of Salem.

Darwaish Zakhil, co-founder and community advancement director of Afghan Support Network, a nonprofit based in Portland, described Musawi as committed and ambitious. He had spoken on the phone with him and met him in person, he said, and had also met Safdari and Ferdawsi at events.

They were all working toward their commercial pilot licenses and wanted to be reunited with their families.

"They were happy. They were hopeful for the future," he said. "When you look back and see their work and their life, what they've been through, it's so sad for all Afghans around the globe and especially here in the state of Oregon."

Darin Chung, co-founder of the Afghan American Development group, a nonprofit that helps some 600 former Afghan military aviation personnel in the U.S. with refugee resettlement, job training and family reunification, said he also met Musawi — at the aviation hangar in Independence this past spring. Chung, who was a U.S. Marines pilot for 20 years and served in Afghanistan, described him as "terrifically respectful."

"As a veteran myself, who spent time in combat, I consider these guys every bit of veteran as a U.S. citizen who spent time in the U.S. military in combat," he said.

"They're incredible people," he said of the Afghans his nonprofit assists. "They have been under more stress than I ever have experienced."

The pilots' families have remained in Afghanistan while waiting to be able to come to the U.S., according to the group, which has also created a GoFundMe page. The men hadn't seen their families since August 2021, when the Taliban swept back to power after seizing the Afghan capital Kabul.

As the Taliban advanced on Kabul, the pilots were among those who flew their aircraft, under fire, to the neighboring country of Tajikistan to prevent air force equipment from falling into the hands of the group's fighters, said Russ Pritchard, the nonprofit's CEO.

They came to the U.S. as part of Operation Allies Welcome, Pritchard said. The program has helped resettle at least 90,000 Afghans since 2021, including those who worked for the U.S. government and military, according to the U.S. State Department.

"All three of those men were heroes, fought side by side with their American counterparts, participated in one last heroic act and were granted asylum," Pritchard said. "They all dreamed of their children coming and being educated in the United States."

Pritchard said most of the people that his group helps have been separated from their families for more than two years.

The small plane carrying Musawi, Safdari and Ferdawsi was traveling in heavy fog Saturday from McMinnville, Oregon, to the Independence State Airport, police said.

Authorities said the initial investigation found the collision with electrical power lines resulted in a small brush fire and a power outage in the community.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating with assistance from Independence police. A possible cause was not immediately released.

The nonprofits working to support the pilots' families said the Afghan community was grieving the loss. Some 1,400 Afghans have resettled as refugees in Oregon since 2021, according to the state's department of human services.

"These heroes will be deeply missed," Salem for Refugees said. "Let's unite in their honor and give their families the support they need during this unimaginable time."

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