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‘American Sniper’ Author Shot to Death in Texas Untouchable in Iraq, Ex-Sniper Dies in a Shooting Back Home
(about 5 hours later)
Since retiring from the Navy SEALs, Chris Kyle, whom the Pentagon has deemed as among America’s deadliest snipers, would occasionally take fellow veterans shooting as a kind of therapy to salve battlefield scars. HOUSTON — From his perch in hide-outs above battle-scarred Iraq, Chris Kyle earned a reputation as one of America’s deadliest military snipers. The Pentagon said his skills with a rifle so terrorized Iraqi insurgents during his four tours of duty that they nicknamed him the “Devil of Ramadi” and put a bounty on his head.
Mr. Kyle, 38, author of the best-selling book “American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History,” was with a struggling former soldier on just such an outing on Saturday, hoping that a day at a shooting range would bring some relief, said a friend, Travis Cox. The insurgents never collected, and he returned home to become a best-selling author and a mentor to other veterans, sometimes taking them shooting at a gun range near his Texas home as a kind of therapy to salve battlefield scars, friends said. One such veteran was Eddie Ray Routh, a 25-year-old Marine who had served tours in Iraq and Haiti.
But the Texas authorities said Sunday that the troubled veteran turned on Mr. Kyle and a second man, Chad Littlefield, shooting and killing both before fleeing in a pickup truck. But on Saturday, far from a war zone, Mr. Routh turned on Mr. Kyle, 38, and a second man, Chad Littlefield, 35, shortly after they arrived at an exclusive shooting range near Glen Rose, Tex., about 50 miles southwest of Fort Worth, law enforcement authorities said on Sunday. The officials said that for reasons that were still unclear, Mr. Routh shot and killed both men with a semiautomatic handgun before fleeing in a pickup truck belonging to Mr. Kyle.
“Chad and Chris had taken a veteran out to shoot to try to help him,” Mr. Cox said. “And they were killed.” “Chad and Chris had taken a veteran out to shoot to try to help him,” said Travis Cox, a friend of Mr. Kyle’s. “And they were killed.”
The police identified the gunman as Eddie Ray Routh, 25, who had served in both Iraq and Afghanistan and had suffered from mental illness. The police offered no information about a possible motive. Mr. Routh was captured a few hours later near his home in Lancaster, a southern Dallas suburb, following a brief pursuit. He will be charged with two counts of capital murder, law enforcement officials said.
Mr. Routh shot the men about 3:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Rough Creek Lodge, an exclusive shooting range near Glen Rose, Tex., about 50 miles southwest of Fort Worth, Sgt. Lonny Haschel, a spokesman for the State Department of Public Safety’s Highway Patrol Division, said in a statement. Mr. Routh was arrested on Saturday night at his home in Lancaster, a suburb south of Dallas. He has been charged with two counts of capital murder, Mr. Haschel said. Friends of Mr. Kyle said he had been well acquainted with the difficulties soldiers face returning to civilian life, and had devoted much of his time since retiring in 2009 to helping fellow soldiers overcome the traumas of war.
Mr. Cox, the director of a foundation that Mr. Kyle created, said he did not know Mr. Routh. Mr. Kyle, he said, had devoted his life since his retirement from the military to helping fellow soldiers overcome post-traumatic stress. “He served this country with extreme honor, but came home and was a servant leader in helping his brothers and sisters dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder,” said Mr. Cox, also a former military sniper. “Everyone has their own inner struggles, but he was very proactive about the things he was dealing with.”
In 2011, Mr. Kyle created the FITCO Cares Foundation to provide veterans with exercise equipment and counseling. He believed that exercise and the camaraderie of fellow veterans could help former soldiers ease into civilian life. “He served this country with extreme honor, but came home and was a servant leader in helping his brothers and sisters dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder,” Mr. Cox, also a former military sniper, said by telephone. In 2011, Mr. Kyle created the Fitco Cares Foundation to provide veterans with exercise equipment and counseling. He believed that exercise and the camaraderie of fellow veterans could help former soldiers ease into civilian life.
Mr. Kyle, who lived outside of Dallas, had his own difficulties adjusting after retiring from the SEALs in 2009. He was deployed in Iraq during the worst years of the insurgency, perched in or on top of bombed-out apartment buildings with his .300 Winchester Magnum. Mr. Kyle, who lived outside of Dallas with his wife and their two children, had his own difficulties adjusting after retiring from the SEALs. He was deployed in Iraq during the worst years of the insurgency, perched in or on top of bombed-out apartment buildings with his .300 Winchester Magnum. His job was to provide “overwatch,” preventing enemy fighters from ambushing Marine units.
His job was to provide “overwatch,” preventing enemy fighters from ambushing Marines as they moved through Iraqi towns. He did not think the job would be difficult, he wrote in his book, “American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History.”
He did not think the job would be difficult, he wrote in his book, but two weeks into the war, he found himself staring through his scope into the face of an unconventional enemy. A woman with a child had pulled a grenade from beneath her clothes as several Marines approached. He hesitated, he wrote, but then fired the shot. But two weeks into his time in Iraq, he found himself staring through his scope into the face of an unconventional enemy. A woman with a child standing close by had pulled a grenade from beneath her clothes as several marines approached. He hesitated, he wrote, then shot.
“It was my duty to shoot, and I don’t regret it,” he wrote. “My shots saved several Americans, whose lives were clearly worth more than that woman’s twisted soul.”“It was my duty to shoot, and I don’t regret it,” he wrote. “My shots saved several Americans, whose lives were clearly worth more than that woman’s twisted soul.”
Over time, his hesitation diminished and he became better at his job. He was credited with more than 150 deaths. He became the scourge of Iraqi insurgents, who put a price on his head and were said to have called him the “Devil of Ramadi.” In his book, he describes taking out a fighter wielding a rocket launcher 2,100 yards away, a very long distance for a sniper and the longest for Mr. Kyle. Over time, his hesitation diminished and he became proficient at his job, credited for more than 150 kills. In his book, he describes taking out a fighter wielding a rocket launcher 2,100 yards away, a very long distance for a sniper and his farthest ever.
“Maybe the way I jerked the trigger to the right adjusted for the wind,” he wrote. “Maybe gravity shifted and put that bullet right where it had to be.”“Maybe the way I jerked the trigger to the right adjusted for the wind,” he wrote. “Maybe gravity shifted and put that bullet right where it had to be.”
“Whatever, I watched through my scope as the shot hit the Iraqi, who tumbled over the wall to the ground.”“Whatever, I watched through my scope as the shot hit the Iraqi, who tumbled over the wall to the ground.”
Mr. Kyle received two Silver Stars and five Bronze Stars for valor. Sheriff Tommy Bryant of Erath County, said investigators were still sorting out how the three men had known one another and for how long, but the authorities said the Saturday trip was the first time they had been out together at that shooting range. They said they did not know the motive for the killings.
He would later describe his service in humble terms, preferring to talk not about the enemies killed, but the lives saved. “The suspect’s mother was a schoolteacher for a long time,” the sheriff said. “She may have reached out to Mr. Kyle to try and help her son. We kind of have an idea that maybe that’s why they were at the range, for some type of therapy that Mr. Kyle assists people with.”
“I feel pretty good because I am not just killing someone, I am also saving people,” he said in a January 2012 interview with The Dallas Morning News. “What keeps me up at night is not the people that I have killed, it is the people I wasn’t able to save.” In a news conference, the sheriff said: “They all went out there together in the same vehicle. The suspect may have been suffering from some kind of mental illness from being in the military.”
In an interview with The New York Times in March, Mr. Kyle said that he had hesitated to write a book about his experiences. But he was persuaded to do so after hearing that other books about SEALs were in the works. Pentagon records show that Mr. Routh is currently a member of the Marine Reserves. He was an expert marksman and Marine corporal who had earned several medals, including a Marine good-conduct medal. He served in Iraq from September 2007 to March 2008, Pentagon officials said, and was currently listed as “individual ready reserve,” meaning he could be called back to active duty.
Sheriff investigators said Mr. Routh was unemployed and since leaving active military duty had at least one arrest on a charge of driving while intoxicated.
Mr. Kyle’s autobiography was published in January 2012 by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins, and became a nonfiction best-seller. It turned Mr. Kyle into a celebrity, appearing on talk shows like Late Night with Conan O’Brien.
The sudden success of the book surprised no one more than Mr. Kyle, the son of a church deacon who was initially rejected by the Navy when he tried to join in the mid-1990s, because of the pins in his arm from a rodeo injury. His first book signing drew 1,200 people. About 850,000 print and e-book editions of the book were sold.
In an interview with The New York Times in March, Mr. Kyle — who received two Silver Stars and five Bronze medals for valor — said he had hesitated to write about his experiences. But he was persuaded to move forward after hearing that other books about SEALs were in the works.
“I wanted to tell my story as a SEAL,” he said. “This is about all the hardships that everybody has to go through to get the respect and the honor.”“I wanted to tell my story as a SEAL,” he said. “This is about all the hardships that everybody has to go through to get the respect and the honor.”
But he also wanted his sense of humor to come out, he said, noting that he tried to “write in a Texas drawl.”But he also wanted his sense of humor to come out, he said, noting that he tried to “write in a Texas drawl.”
The book, which was published in January of last year, spent months on The New York Times best-seller list and turned Mr. Kyle into a celebrity. He appeared on talk shows like “Conan” with Conan O’Brien. At a book signing in Kerrville, Tx., last year, Bairbre Bible, a local resident, said Mr. Kyle took a break from signing autographs to share a hug and comforting words with her husband, Jerry, a Vietnam veteran still suffering from post-traumatic stress.
He also played a role in the NBC reality program “Stars Earn Stripes,” in which celebrities were paired with elite soldiers to carry out military-style missions. “Chris, just in that short meeting was a very strong and compassionate person,” Ms. Bible said. “You felt a warmth and a special energy,” she said.
For all his success, friends and fellow veterans described Mr. Kyle as a humble warrior and down-to-earth family man who loved his wife and two children. In gatherings with other veterans, he would deflect the praise of well-wishers and play up the achievements of his comrades. Jerry Bible, 76, who has difficulty speaking, added: “We shared personal pain.”
“He wasn’t the ‘American Sniper’ to all of his friends,” Mr. Cox said. “He was Chris Kyle, and he was right alongside you. He was proud to be a veteran, and he would do anything he could to serve veterans.” In gatherings with other veterans, friends said Mr. Kyle would deflect the praise of the inevitable well-wishers and play up the achievements of his comrades.

Manny Fernandez and Julie Bosman contributed reporting.

“He wasn’t the American Sniper to all of his friends,” Mr. Cox said. “He was Chris Kyle and he was right alongside you. He was proud to be a veteran and he would do anything he could to serve veterans.”

Manny Fernandez reported from Houston, and Michael Schwirtz from New York.