Chris Kyle

Christopher Scott "Chris" Kyle (April 8, 1974 – February 2, 2013) was a United States Navy SEAL and the most lethal sniper inAmerican military history, with 160 confirmed kills (out of 255 claimed kills),although these statistics have not been released by the Pentagon. He was shot and killed on February 2, 2013, in Texas.

At the age of 8, Kyle's father taught him to shoot. As a youth, he trained as a bronco rider for the rodeo, which he gave up after a serious injury to his arm. He had intended to volunteer and enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps, and was recruited by the U.S. Army, but eventually enlisted with the U.S. Navy. Kyle served four tours in the second Iraq war, and was awarded the Bronze and Silver Star medals multiple times. Iraqi insurgents dubbed him the "Devil of Ramadi" and offered an increasing bounty for his head. He was shot twice, and was involved in six IED attacks. Kyle separated from the U.S. Navy with an honorable discharge in 2009 to spend time with his family. He remained in the spotlight during retirement, and wrote a New York Times bestselling autobiography, American Sniper.

Early life

Born in Odessa, Texas, the son of a Sunday school teacher and a deacon, Kyle's father bought his son his first gun at 8 years old, a bolt-action .30-06 Springfield rifle, and later a shotgun, with which they hunted pheasant, quail, and deer. After school, Kyle became a professional bronco rodeo rider, but his profession ended abruptly when he severely injured his arm. After his arm healed, he went to a military recruiting office, interested in joining the United States Marine Corps (USMC). A Navy recruiter told him about the Navy SEALs. Kyle signed up, but was rejected because of the pins in his arm. A little while later, he received a call and he had the chance to go to BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL school), finally joining the United States Navy in 1999.

Military service

Iraq War

Assigned to SEAL Team 3, Sniper Element Charlie platoon within the Naval Special Warfare Command, and with over four tours of duty, Kyle served in every major battle of Operation Iraqi Freedom. His first long-range kill shot was taken during the initial invasion, when he shot a woman approaching a group of Marines with a hand grenade in her hand. As ordered, he opened fire, killing the woman before she could attack.

For his deadly track record as a marksman during his deployment to Ramadi, the insurgents named him Shaitan Ar-Ramadi (English: The Devil of Ramadi), and put a $20,000 bounty on his head that was later increased to $80,000.

In 2008, outside Sadr City, he made his longest successful shot, after he spotted an insurgent with a rocket launcher near a U.S. Army convoy at a range of 2,100 yards (1.9 km). He fired a shot from his Lapua Magnum PGM .338 rifle, killing the insurgent as told in his book American Sniper. During four tours of duty in Iraq, Kyle was shot twice and caught up in six separate IED explosions.

Later work

Kyle left the U.S. Navy in 2009, and moved to Midlothian, Texas with his wife, Taya, and two children. He ran Craft International, which provides military, law enforcement, and civilian training, as well as private security and protection until his death. In 2012, Harper Collins released Kyle's autobiographical book American Sniper. Kyle also paired with FITCO Cares Foundation, a non-profit organization which created the Heroes Project to provide free in-home fitness equipment, individualized programs, personal training, and life-coaching to in-need veterans with disabilities, Gold Star families, or those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. On August 13, 2012, Kyle appeared on the reality television show Stars Earn Stripes, which features celebrities pairing up with a special operations or law enforcement professional who will train them in weapons and combat tactics. Kyle was teamed with actor Dean Cain.

Alleged confrontation with Jesse Ventura

While promoting his book American Sniper on the Opie and Anthony Radio Show on January 4, 2012, Kyle claimed to have knocked down former Governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura, who was also a member of the Underwater Demolition Teams, with a punch to the face at a bar in Coronado, California in 2006 after Ventura allegedly “badmouthed the troops” and said that the SEALs "deserved to lose a few guys." The alleged incident occurred during a wake for Michael A. Monsoor, a Navy SEAL who was killed in action in Iraq the same year. Kyle also wrote about the alleged incident in his book but did not mention Ventura by name.Ventura released a statement on his Facebook page calling Kyle's claims completely false, denying he said anything derogatory about the troops, and also denying Kyle’s claim of punching him in the face or even having ever met Kyle.Kyle claimed two Navy SEALs had come forward with the story but no police report is known to exist. At the time of Kyle's death, Ventura was suing Kyle for defamation in court.

Death

Kyle and a companion, Chad Littlefield, were shot and killed on Saturday, February 2, 2013, at the Rough Creek Lodge shooting range in Erath County, Texas.

A memorial service will be held at the Dallas Cowboys stadium Feb 11. Kyle will be buried in Austin with a processional on US-67 at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday.

Suspect

Local police captured the suspect, Eddie Ray Routh, after a short freeway chase, which ended when Routh, who had left the scene of the shootings in Kyle's Ford F-350 truck, crashed into a police cruiser. The suspect was arrested just before 9:00 p.m. the same day in Lancaster, Texas.Erath County sheriffs said the motive for the killing was unclear.

Routh, 25, of Lancaster, Texas, was arraigned Saturday, February 2, 2013, on two counts of capital murder, according to Sgt. Lonny Haschel of the Texas Department of Public Safety. He was taken to the Erath County Jail for holding under a $3 million bond. A friend of Kyle said the suspect was a veteran struggling with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Kyle and Littlefield had purportedly taken Routh to the gun range in an effort to help him with his PTSD.

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