Former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle fatally shot

[Eric]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/02/03...est=latestnews

Chris Kyle, a former U.S. Navy SEAL credited with the largest number of confirmed kills, was one of two people fatally shot at a North Texas shooting range Saturday, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Erath County Sheriff Tommy Bryant told the Star-Telegram that Kyle, 38, was shot by a suspected gunman, identified as 25-year-old Eddie Ray Routh, around 3:30 p.m.

Routh allegedly opened fire on the two men before fleeing in a pickup truck belonging to one of the victims, according to the report.

Bryant said the suspect was apprehended and taken into custody in Lancaster, southeast of Dallas, about five hours later.

The identity of the other shooting victim was not released.

Kyle set the record for confirmed sniper kills at 150 and received multiple valor awards, including five Bronze Stars with Valor and two Silver Stars, according to US military records.

Kyle wrote the best-selling book, "American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History," detailing his 150-plus kills of insurgents from 1999 to 2009.

Kyle was sued by former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura over a portion of the book that claims Kyle punched Ventura in a 2006 bar fight over unpatriotic remarks. Ventura says the punch never happened and that the claim by Kyle defamed him.

Kyle had asked that Ventura's claims of invasion of privacy and "unjust enrichment" be dismissed, saying there was no legal basis for them. But a federal judge said the lawsuit should proceed. Both sides were told to be ready for trial by Aug. 1.

[Eric]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...91202K20130203

(Reuters) - Chris Kyle, the former U.S. Navy SEAL sniper who was responsible for 160 kills during his career as U.S. Navy SEAL sniper, was shot and killed with another man at a gun range on Saturday, the co-author of Kyle's book said.

A suspect, identified as Eddie Ray Routh, was arrested, according to reports.

Kyle, who wrote "American Sniper" about his military service from 1999 to 2009, and another man were found dead at the Rough Creek Lodge's shooting range Saturday, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, quoting Erath County Sheriff Tommy Bryant. The second victim was not identified.

"It just comes as a shock and it's staggering to think that after all Chris has been through, that this is how he meets his end, because there are so many ways he could have been killed" in Iraq, said Scott McEwen, who wrote the book with Kyle.

Rough Creek Lodge is located in Glen Rose, Texas, which is about 50 miles southwest of Fort Worth. Rough Creek Lodge referred calls to the Erath County Sheriff's Office but Bryant was not immediately available for comment.

Kyle served four combat tours of duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom and elsewhere, and won two Silver Stars and five Bronze Stars for bravery, according to his book.

After leaving the Navy, Kyle founded Craft International, a firm that provided combat and weapons training to military, police, corporate and civilian clients.

In a 2012 interview with Time magazine he was asked what went through his mind when he aimed at a target.

"The first time, you're not even sure you can do it," he said. "But I'm not over there looking at these people as people. I'm not wondering if he has a family. I'm just trying to keep my guys safe. Every time I kill someone, he can't plant an IED. You don't think twice about it."

Kyle is the co-author of another book coming out in May under the title "American Gun - A History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms." For the book he fired 10 weapons - such as the Spencer repeating rifle from the Civil War, the Colt .45 used in the Old West and the Thompson sub-machine gun popular with law enforcement and gangsters in the 1920s - and discussed their parts in U.S. history.

In the wake of the slayings of 20 children and six adults at a school in Newtown, Connecticut in December, Kyle was interviewed in January about rising calls for curbing gun violence in the United States. He told the website guns.com that he favored arming teachers who have been screened and trained and spoke against restrictions on gun owners.

[Eric]

We lost a true American Hero.
RIP SEAL Chris Kyle.

[RoyL]

Kyle and I shared many personal and business acquaintances, and people always went out of the way to describe him as a genuinely good guy.

This is truly tragic... rest in peace Chief!

[GolfBravo]

Fair Winds & Following Seas, Chief Kyle :-(

[tac40]

Rest in peace.