Post date: Feb 03, 2013 2:19:38 PM
Ex-Navy Seal Chris Kyle, who wrote a book about his exploits in the military called 'American Sniper', is shot to death along with another man at a Texas gun range.
STEPHENVILLE, TEXAS, UNITED STATES(FEBRUARY 2, 2013) (NBC) - Chris Kyle, a former U.S. Navy SEAL who was responsible for 160 kills during his military career, was shot and killed with another man at a Texas gun range on Saturday (February 2).
A suspect, identified as Eddie Ray Routh, was arrested, according to Texas Highway Patrol Public Information Officer Lonny Haschel.Haschel described what law enforcement officers found when they arrived at the Rough Creek Lodge's shooting range.
"Upon arrival they discovered that there were two victims, Christopher Kyle, age 38 andChad Littlefield, age 35. The suspected gunman was identified as 25-year-old Eddie Ray Routh of Lancaster," said Haschel.
Haschel said more details of the shooting will be released as investigators learn more about what exactly took place.
"This in ongoing. This is a very fluid thing, a couple different things that we're looking at. We have a couple of different scenes that we're looking at, so that's all being processed," said Haschel.
Rough Creek Lodge is located in Glen Rose, Texas, which is about 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Fort Worth.
Kyle wrote "American Sniper" about his military service from 1999 to 2009, when he 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.
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
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.